dir./writ. by Corey Finley
Feature film debuts are a hard business. Acclimatizing to hour-plus filmmaking can be a hard process for many filmmakers, and while some directors like Jordan Peele hit the ground running, others take a bit longer to find their footing. Corey Finley, not unlike Peele, has prior experience in another medium, in this case theatre, and this goes some distance to explaining the unpredictability and novelty of Thoroughbreds, his first work as a filmmaker. The film is a showy exercise, heavy on concept and light on thematic heft, but Finley's writing talent shines through in the film's tightly-wound thrills and razor-sharp dark humour.
What makes Finley's debut so astonishing, though, is that, despite never making a film before, he has matched his exciting narrative with a strong formal style. So many first-time filmmakers can only dream of making something this confident and distinct, and yet Finley seems as comfortable with the form as if he had been making movies for years, merging his great script with an off-kilter, unnerving aesthetic which colours even the most mundane of events. So sharp is his formal control that it elaborates and elevates the already exhilarating content of his script, and if this film is any indication, Finley should find cinema a good fit for his talents.
