Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Written by: Neil Jordan, Ray Wright
Produced by: James Flynn, Lawrence Bender, John Penotti
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Chlöe Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe.
Like the ominous drone of a train running through the tunnels of the New York City subway, Greta is all about the darkness that runs beneath the surface.
Frances (Chlöe Grace Moretz) has that newly-arrived innocence. She hasn’t been bitten by the nasty of New York. Originally from Boston, she lives with her best friend Erica (Maika Monroe (It Follows (2015)) in her loft.
Frances still believes in doing the right thing. Until she meets Greta (Isabelle Huppert).
Greta has thought of the perfect ruse, preying on the kindness of ‘suckers’: she leaves a green leather bag on the train with an identity card, amongst other convincing paraphernalia, noting her address.
So when Frances finds the bag (and Lost and Found is closed – but would they be closed all the time? I wasn’t entirely convinced…), she takes the bag back to the rightful owner – much to the disgrace of Erica: ‘This city’s going to eat you alive’.
A telling statement for what’s to come.
The kindness of the older French woman, Greta, seems to fill a hole in Frances’ life; to become the mother figure that’s missing after the death of her mother the year before.
But Greta is sticky.
And as the worldly-wise Erica says, The more persistent, the more crazy.
Writer and director Neil Jordan, ‘saw GRETA as a story about obsession. Every friendship begins with a promise of sorts, he believes: “‘I’ll be your friend if you’ll be mine. We’ll share things. I’ll tell you about my life, if you tell me about yours.’ If those little gestures are used in a malevolent way it becomes kind of terrifying.’
Greta feels like a classic style of psychological thriller, such as the stalking films, Misery (1990) and Fatal Attraction (1987); but with the older crazy woman being the seductress of a young girl. Greta invades the life of Frances, demanding everything like an obsessed lover.
Isabelle Huppert, ‘interpreted the script as an ambiguous love story.’
And the closeup camerawork make the most of Chlöe Graces’ (as Frances) pretty face that adds to that strange dynamic of: Surrogate daughter? Friend? Lover?
But I’m not sure why this dynamic didn’t quite resonate with me – the idea of the trap is clever.
As is the splicing and camerawork of the descent of Frances’ capture.
There’s this strange brevity from Isabelle Huppert as Greta, her clever euphemisms and light dancing of stockinged feet giving Greta more dimension than just crazy.
I believed the kindness and intelligence more than the psychopathic nature of her character.
And I think this is because the depth of psychology or explanation wasn’t explored – why was Greta crazy?
And what happened to her husband?
Not the psychological thriller I was hoping for but there’s some clever here with some tense and surprising moments.
