#make monroe

With the talented Chloë Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert in the lead roles, you desperately want Greta to be more. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a by-the-book stalker thriller but some kind of innovation would’ve been nice.

When Frances (Moretz) finds an abandoned handbag on the subway, she returns it to its owner, a lonely widow named Greta (Huppert). The two bond and become friends. Little does Frances know, the seemingly harmless woman is becoming obsessed with her.

I was tempted to damn the film for its largely predictable plot but that would be wrong. Do you want the movie, or not? Besides, Greta has modest ambitions. It’s R-Rated, but just barely (aside from one gory sequence, it's pretty tame), isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel and to be fair, there are some thrills within for the audiences interested in seeing it. Huppert is convincing as the older lady becoming increasingly unhinged and she is imposing compared to Moretz, whom you buy as the kind of young woman who would be sweet enough to return that handbag and befriend a lonely stranger.

If only the writing was a little better. You simply have to fill in too many gaps in the narrative. We know Frances recently lost her mother to cancer but we don’t feel the hole in her heart that would make her ignore the obvious red flags. Obviously, we can piece together how deranged the stalker is from her actions but a little additional material revealing her as a master manipulator or hopelessly mad web-weaver would've done wonders. A doctorate in psychology used for evil, a vulnerable protagonist who's really vulnerable would make you accept what happens so much better. Instead, the plot seems propelled by the young woman’s increasing stupidity. Without giving too much away, there’s a point where she - long after recognizing Greta for what she is - goes back to the woman’s house… to check on the dog they adopted together. It's so nutty I actually kind of buy it but come on girl; if you don’t care about your own life, why should I?

There have been numerous pictures like Greta over the years and there are always certain aspects of them which entertain. Does Greta do enough to warrant venturing outside and seeing it at the theater instead of just staying home and re-watching a favorite? maybe if you're trying to snuggle up with an easily-impressed date but otherwise, I don’t think so. It's largely forgettable. (Theatrical version on the big screen, March 3, 2019)