This Twisted Top-Charting Netflix Thriller Is A Wildly Unpredictable Must-Watch
I am such a fan of Paul Feig. I appreciate the director’s outrageous sense of humor, his fixation with the ridiculous, and his knack for staging comedic mishaps for maximum efficacy. With A Simple Favor, Feig pivots from the straight-up comedy fare for which he’s best known and delves into decidedly darker subject matter. The film certainly has comedic overtones that harken back to Feig’s roots. But A Simple Favor, now dominating Netflix, is nothing like Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters, or The Heat. This is a gritty thriller with an unpredictable narrative sure to keep viewers on their toes. Fans of ominous crime films will find plenty to love about this 2018 effort.
A Simple Favor follows Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a single mother who befriends the glamorous Emily (Blake Lively). The women’s children are classmates who form a fast friendship at school. That paves the way for Emily and Stephanie to strike up a friendship of their own. However, Emily has a secret-filled past that surfaces in time. When Emily asks Stephanie to babysit her son for the afternoon, Stephanie graciously obliges. But when Emily subsequently proceeds to vanish into thin air, Stephanie is left trying to put the pieces together. As Stephanie searches for answers by diving into Emily’s sordid past, she realizes some secrets are best left buried.
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The film benefits from an especially strong script (from Darcey Bell and Jessica Sharzer) that features two very dynamic leading ladies. Both characters are complex in their own way. Stephanie will initially be relatable to anyone who has ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin. In spite of being strikingly beautiful, she comes across as mousey and unsure of herself. Stephanie worries endlessly about everyone else but rarely advocates for her own needs. Fortunately, her journey ends in a very different place from where it started. Stephanie has a dynamic arc that sees her finding her voice and, for better or worse, evolving into a more confident version of herself. Along her journey, we learn Stephanie’s bubbly outward presentation masks an inner darkness born from a lifetime of tragedy.
Emily is just as compelling as Stephanie but in a very different way. She is the classic femme fatale. She’s cool, confident, and always knows just what to say. She’s Stephanie’s polar opposite but represents everything Stephanie wishes she was. As Stephanie gradually comes to embody certain characteristics she admires in Emily, she learns a series of valuable lessons about herself in the process.
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Emily functions, in part, as a commentary on the gender roles pushed upon women. What makes her fascinating is that she rejects the demure manner in which women often feel compelled to present themselves. She is bold and unapologetic, understanding that it’s perfectly ok for a woman to speak her mind and go after what she wants.
The film has a pitch-black sense of humor. The writing is spot on, and the delivery is just as good. In one unforgettable exchange, Emily makes an off-color remark to her son about the birthing process that made me spit out my drink the first time I watched the film. But I won’t say more than that as not to spoil the experience for the uninducted.
A compelling cast of characters and dark humor aside, this crime thriller is never afraid to take viewers to dark and seedy places. Like a good movie should, A Simple Favor makes you feel something. A lot of some things, in fact. This picture is likely to make you feel uncomfortable on occasion. But that is by design. We see the dark side of both leads, and some of what we witness is rather difficult to stomach.
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A Simple Favor has an unpredictable, gritty storyline that kept me guessing until the end. The twists and turns are supported within the narrative. But the cues seem innocuous enough that the average viewer will likely overlook most of them on an inaugural viewing. A Simple Favor is the type of film where, just as the viewer thinks they’ve got it all figured out, they realize absolutely nothing is what it seems.
Many psychological thrillers that hinge on a twist (or series of twists) fall flat upon a second visit. But A Simple Favor doesn’t fall into any such trappings. The revelations within are not so jarring that they overshadow the plight of the core characters. When I paid the film a repeat visit, I was pleased to see that I was almost as captivated as I was upon my first viewing.
In short, I cannot recommend A Simple Favor highly enough. It’s a pleasure to see Paul Feig step away from straight-up comedy and delve into darker subject matter. The leading ladies are at the top of their game, and the moments of dark comedy are nothing short of genius. If you haven’t yet seen this compelling crime thriller, you’re in luck. A Simple Favor is streaming on Netflix as of the publication of this post.
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