By Mark Saldana
Review: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars)
From director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire) comes this dark, tense, and twisted thriller. Starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz, Greta offers mind games, chills, laughs and suspense that are sure to keep audiences well-entertained. With a mix of transparency, surprises and solid acting, Jordan’s latest offering is definitely not his best work, but is a solid entry. Still, it isn’t at all a misstep in a mostly well-respected career.
Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Frances, an amiable, but sad young woman trying to recover from the untimely loss of her mother. On one fateful day, she discovers a purse someone has left behind. Because she has good, strong values, Frances seeks out the owner who turns out to be a very sweet, but lonely older lady named Greta. Charmed by her sweet nature, Frances quickly befriends Greta and the two begin spending lots of time together. When Frances discovers a more discerning side to Greta’s personality, she hopes to easily dissolve their relationship. However, this proves to be difficult and problematic as Greta begins displaying the disturbing and obsessive qualities of a stalker.
Written by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan Greta succeeds in offering nail-biting thrills, solid drama, and solid character development. As I stated above, certain beats play out obviously while others deliver some awe-inspiring surprises. Jordan’s psychological drama may not exactly reach the heights of Hitchcock, but it isn’t exactly a far cry from it either. For the most part, I found myself quite captivated with this movie and kts characters. I also found myself uncomfortably laughing at some of the dark humor too.
The performances of the cast are mostly great. Chloe Grace Moretz does well as the innocent and tormented protagonist. Isabelle Huppert performs mostly well as the title character Greta, but gets a tad over-the-top in some of her more sinister scenes. I also enjoyed the performance of Maika Moore who portrays Frances’s wilder and uninhibited roommate Erika. Moore offers much comic relief in this role. The movie also stars Colm Feore, Stephen Rea, and Zawe Ashton, all of whom perform well in their roles.
So while Greta might not be an amazing new entry for Neil Jordan, it is a great thriller worthy of attention. It is a movie that I certainly recommend for fans of stalker thrillers.