Greta (Jordan, 2019)
Just dropped on Netflix (in New Zealand at least) is this potboiler.
“Isabelle Huppert brings her ‘A’ game to a B‑movie in Neil Jordan’s thriller Greta” is what I said about it in my review for RNZ back in 2019.
Huppert plays the eponymous Greta, a lonely widow in Brooklyn who leaves her handbag in a subway car to be found by another fish out of water – Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz). Frances is grieving for the recent loss of a mother – and her father’s recent remarriage. She’s living with Erica, her best friend from college, (Maika Monroe) whose own parents appear to be billionaires – her father bought her a Tribeca loft as a graduation present.
But this is a pretend New York, not a real one. A New York where you can leave your expensive bicycle unlocked against a building while you go and investigate the trash belonging to this mysterious older woman – and the bicycle is still there when you get back!
When she returns the handbag, Frances is befriended by Greta. They exchange cell numbers, Frances helps Greta find a dog from the shelter (although it is a little odd that Greta selects the very first pooch she sees) and the younger woman starts neglecting her roommate.
But then she discovers something that makes her question the reality as well as the value of her new friendship but when she tries to break it off, all hell – as they say – breaks loose.
It’s a genuine pleasure to watch a thriller like this that isn’t afraid to dial up the silliness of its premise to 11 which it does in a third act that is so focused on hitting the jump-scare beats that it joyously throws its remaining logic under the bus. It’s fun!
Even better is watching Huppert play with this role like a cat plays with a mouse. At first, she’s a little hesitant and her body language is fidgety. We’re tempted to think that – because this is a rare departure for her into the English language – she might be a little less sure of herself than usual. There’s no danger of that. By the third act she’s literally dancing a shuffle in her stockinged feet – like Muhammad Ali – as she vanquishes another contender.
Where to watch Greta
Aotearoa, Australia, Ireland & UK : Streaming on Netflix
Canada & USA: Digital rental
