«Greta»: a horror, but not in a good way

Cinema Wednesdays - Lauriane Pipoz

Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) finds a forgotten bag in the New York subway. As a good citizen, she decides to return it in person to its owner. It turns out to be Greta Hideg (the astonishing Isabelle Hupert), a lonely woman who invites her for coffee. They strike up a friendship. Until the young woman discovers a series of bags identical to the first, accompanied by post-it notes showing the names and telephone numbers of the young women who found them. But it's not so easy to cut the cord with Greta, who turns from surrogate mother to determined stalker for Frances. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game through the streets and establishments of New York.

The original synopsis of Greta had it all. Coupled with a cast that looked solid on paper, this new thriller looked thrilling. All the more so since the trailer, with its stunning visuals and sound, was bloodcurdling! The problem is that, while the impeccable form of the film - well-crafted points of view, striking music, experienced leads - is maintained throughout, it is unfortunately at the service of empty content. The story is sorely lacking in depth, as are its totally stereotyped characters. 

The naive blonde and the crazy old lady

As we all know, the only people likely to bring home an honest bag are gullible and risk-takers. Greta confirms this, making us jump up and down when the main character and her friend find it wise to break into the persecutor's house alone, or to make their way home at night through dark alleyways.

This aspect of the film has at least one merit: it shows that the director (Neil Jordan) knows how to play with suspense. With the help of the music, he knows how to turn up the heat and keep us on the edge of our seats for long, intense minutes. Particularly in the second half of the film, when the chase begins and we witness an astonishing cross-country chase.

Unfortunately, to discover this second part, you need to have seen the whole first part, which drags on and on. The chemistry between Chloë Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert is highly dubious: although very good on their own, the former's very American acting and the latter's French style don't fit together very well, and the film loses credibility. Credibility is further strained by the bland psychology of the characters, highlighted by flat dialogue, sometimes in unnecessarily long and tedious phone calls.

Music and visual interest to lift a bad script

It's certainly for these reasons that we sometimes find ourselves hoping that something bad will happen to the main character and her best friend, which drowns out the film's main issue: the inaction of the authorities in the face of harassment. The latter could have been the subject of a very interesting treatment if long minutes of the film hadn't been used to play out empty phrases uttered by poorly constructed characters. The screenplay makes very poor use of the basic story, which then feels very empty.

The non-verbal aspect, however, is far more interesting, thanks to astonishing visuals realized with the help of mirrors, staircases or original camera shifts. Music is used judiciously, too, and we discover classical music at moments when we least expect it. Its place makes this thriller a little less uninteresting, since formally different. Thanks in particular to Isabelle Huppert, who makes the most of it in an original scene in which she shows her character's madness with improvised dance steps, or in a beautiful moment in which she tells her story while playing the piano.

Although it obeys the cliché of horror films containing poor dialogue and stupid characters, Greta stands out a little from the crowd, as it doesn't just use volume increases to keep the viewer interested. The music is well exploited and the shots are well realized enough to make us forget at times the lack of substance in the script. Unfortunately, these aspects won't be enough to make us remember Greta like a good thriller.

Write to the author: lauriane.pipoz@leregardlibre.com

Photo credits: © Ascot Elite Entertainement