Greta (2019) Review

"Everyone needs a friend."

-Greta Hideg

Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) has recently moved to New York City.  On the subway, she finds a purse belonging to a woman named Greta Hideg (Isabelle Huppert) and returns it to her.  Frances and Greta quickly becomes close and start spending lots of time together, but Frances soon realizes that Greta's intentions are much more sinister than anyone could have guessed.

What Works:

Both of the lead actors do a solid job.  Frances is a very likable character, especially for the first act.  Sure, returning the bag to a stranger probably wasn't the smartest move, but we understand she is simply a kind person, who probably isn't built for New York City.  Meanwhile, Huppert plays Greta with an excellent amount of insanity and sweetness.  Her performance is very unsettling.  

I especially liked the first half of the film, which is a pretty straightforward story about a stalker.  As Greta's actions continue to escalate, the tension and the creepiness rise and make for a very engaging story.  Greta is a scary person and you could really feel the fear and the frustration Frances feels as no one seems to be able to stop Greta.

My favorite character in the film is Frances' roommate, Erica (Maika Monroe), who is much more prepared for the big city than Frances is.  Erica has no problem trying to take on Greta and protecting her friend, even when it puts her at risk.  It's really satisfying to have a character who does what the audience wants them to do, which can't be said for Frances, especially later in the film.  Simply put, Erica is a badass and everyone should have a friend like her.

There is one moment in the film that I absolutely loved, but I don't want to spoil it.  All I will say is that it involves a rolling pin.

Finally, there is some neat cinematography in the film.  There is a scene in an elevator that is very silly, but looks great.  There is also a few shots following Greta and Frances in a taxi together.  I love the way the camera shakes as it follows the vehicle.  It's very unsettling and allows us to feel how much danger Frances is in.

What Sucks:

Although I liked Huppert's performance, her accent was tough for me to understand at times and I couldn't get all of her dialogue.  I have trouble understanding thick accents, so I think I would enjoy this film more with subtitles.

I did prefer the first half of the film over the second half, but there is one scene that really bothers me, which takes place at the restaurant Frances works at.  Greta shows up as a customer and Frances says she will not be her waitress, but all of a sudden she decides to do her job for Greta.  This is a woman who has shown up at Frances' place of work multiple times and caused some problems for the restaurant.  There is no way any manager is going to make Frances serve this woman and they just brush past it.  I found this completely unbelievable and it really took me out of the movie.

The second half of the movie went off the rails and parts of it I really enjoyed, but the writers got a little looser-goosey with their script.  The film is a bit all over the place in the second half.  Parts of it work, but the majority of it does not.

The biggest problem with Greta is the second half is filled with terrible character decisions.  Frances has plenty of opportunities and justification to fight back against Greta.  She could easily win in a fight against this older woman and there are plenty of objects around she could use as a weapon.  I found this part of the film to be really frustrating.  There are obvious answers to Frances' problem, but she ignores most of them.

Verdict:

Greta is an enjoyable movie that is also very frustrating because it doesn't live up to its potential.  Montez and Huppert both do a solid job, even if I had a hard time understanding Huppert at times.  The first half of the film is very engaging with interesting cinematography and an awesome supporting character in Erica, but there were too many unbelievable and frustrating moments for me to fully enjoy the film and the second half of the film goes too far off the rails.  Don't spend money on Greta, just wait for Netflix.

 6/10: Okay