She has a bit of a love-hate relationship with her father (Colm Feore), which has been under additional strain since the death of her mother a year ago.
One night on her way home from work, she finds an abandoned handbag on the subway. She tries to turn it in, but can’t find anyone to help her, so instead she takes it home, returning it the next day to the woman whose ID she found in the bag.
She meets Greta Hideg (Isabelle Huppert), an older woman who seems lovely, inviting her in for a cup of coffee. The two of them get to chatting, and become fast friends.
Frances helps Greta choose a dog (for additional companionship), they share meals together, walk through the streets of New York chatting for hours on end.
But it seems that Greta isn’t content with just being friends, and the relationship quickly turns much more sinister.
Frances becomes very on edge, unable to complete even the most simple of tasks, certain that she is being stalked and harassed by Greta at every turn.
The rest of the film is full of so many twists and turns, it would be appropriate at this point to leave the plot description for you to discover for yourself.
Director Neil Jordan has created an incredibly tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end just what is going on. There are only a few scares that would qualify as jump-scares, the ‘horror’ of the situation is very present throughout, and the scares are much more legitimate.
The script, written by the director and Ray Wright, is clever for the most part. Some of the dialogue feels a little forced, and not terribly realistic, however. There are several moments that feel a little too contrived, but on the whole, the script works.
Javier Navarrete’s music is incredible, present in only the right moments and with just the right tone created. Music is only used in this film to highlight the psychological journey of protagonist Frances, and does this exceptionally well. Students of film scoring could learn much from Navarrete’s score, which consists not only of traditional instruments but also various sampled sounds that add to the effect while never becoming obtrusive or obvious.
The performances of the cast are also very well executed. Moretz has come a long way in her career, showcasing her ability to take on almost any character. This film – and this character – adds to her repertoire exponentially. She takes the audience on an incredibly journey from the beginning to the end of this film, and does it with seemingly minimal effort.
The other massive talent in this film is undoubtedly Isabelle Huppert, who plays her role in such an understated and subtle way, which serves to make her scenes even more tense and her character even more creepy. She is never over-the-top in her portrayal of a woman who is quite severely mentally unhinged, but always stays true to her character’s own point-of-view.
An honourable mention must go to Stephen Rea, who has a relatively small cameo in the final third of the film that, even though the role is small, his integrity in playing it well is not.
This is definitely not a film for the faint-hearted (especially on a big screen in a dark cinema), but I know it will definitely be one I will watch again, as there is so much that can be observed in a subsequent viewing.
8 out of 10.
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