Greta was actually a disappointing movie. What could’ve been a fun little B-flick instead had a half-baked script and some rather forgettable performances from both Huppert and Moretz, the former never quite disturbing or menacing.
Greta
(2019)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Universal Pictures | R – 99 min. – $34.98 | March 28, 2019
Date Published: 05/21/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.75/5 |
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Greta is a psychological thriller that unfortunately lacks very much in the way of genuine thrills. It also was somewhat of a disappointment that despite the reviews, combined with a lackluster box office, I was looking forward to it as I am a fan of these types of films, not to mention generally like Chloe Grace Moretz as an actress who usually delivers, albeit generally in the indie film realm. The plot isn’t overly complicated. Chloe Grace Moretz plays Frances, a small-town girl living in New York City with her roommate Erica (MAIKA MONROE) in an apartment that seems to only exist in movies (it’s explained away that Erica’s father gave her the place as a present). One day while riding the subway, Frances finds a handbag left behind and searching inside finds the owner’s address. The bag’s owner is Greta Hideg (ISABELLE HUPPERT), an older woman who invites Frances inside for some tea.
The pair instantly connect with Frances feeling sorry for Greta as her husband had died years before and daughter lives in France. Much to the dismay, and wariness from Erica, Frances continues to hang out with Greta. However, their motherly-daughter dynamic, as Frances’s mother had recently passed away, changes upon the discovery of numerous other identical handbags with the same ID’s inside, along with sticky notes with other girls’ names. Frances makes her delicate escape but she can’t escape from Greta’s grasps as she soon is being stalked by the now not-so-innocent lonely woman. With the police unable to help, this goes into Fatal Attraction territory as Greta is just about everywhere, going after Erica, finding Frances at her work and just unable to shake her loose. Soon enough, however, Frances will discover the plans Greta has for her, going from Fatal Attraction to something more in line with Misery… There’s nothing terribly notable about Greta. It’s a familiar story, something that probably had been done in the 1970s, perhaps with a changeup that the three main characters were female, including the villain. The film was directed and co-scripted by Neil Jordan, most known for The Crying Game for which he took home the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (and was also nominated for Best Director). Jordan’s direction is adequate I suppose and does give a more intimate feeling despite being set in New York City (though clearly at times obviously shot elsewhere, in this case in Dublin and Toronto).
The premise could have made for a fun yet still suspense-filled movie, instead the utter lack of suspense combined with a villain played by Isabelle Huppert, who I’m sure is a fine actress, made for a film that was just lackluster in terms of pure entertainment. This is a case where I wonder if someone of Meryl Streep’s stature probably would’ve improved things, and before you say she wouldn’t accept such a part, she did do Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Mary Poppins Returns. Then there’s Chloe Grace Moretz. I have been a fan of hers even when the movies she’s in haven’t been all that great; she doesn’t really have a whole lot to offer to a limited character outside of aptly being believable for as being naïve. To be fair, she does a few okay scenes but spends a fair portion of the third act confined (quite literally). The supporting cast consists of the lovely Maika Monroe as Moretz’s city-wise roommate and veteran actor Colm Feore as the father, however he doesn’t get a whole lot to do over the course of his whopping 5-minutes of screen time. Monroe for her part was fine but certainly was far better and effective in The Guest and It Follows (not so much in Independence Day: Resurgence, however).
Greta was a failure both critically and at the box office (taking in $13.5M worldwide) and it’s not hard to see why, what could’ve been a fun, B-movie like quality instead had a hard time finding the right balance where Huppert by the film’s end was more bizarrely silly rather sinisterly frightening and disturbing. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover and a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Features are on the light side with nine Deleted Scenes (5:45) which were rightfully cut and Greta: Enemies and Friends (3:33) short featurette. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Greta comes to Blu-ray presented in with a 2.38 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture here was sharp and nicely defined throughout and although the tone does certainly get dark, there are some brightness throughout while black levels were fairly stark without being crushed, as noted in one sequence where a character is in a dark room. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc includes a standard but functional DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue comes through with good clarity and while the depth is on the limited side, other than some of the city sounds, a good portion of the movie is set inside either an apartment or small home, so the rear channels are mostly relegated with either the score or some minor ambient noises (such as the banging on a wall for instance). Nothing amazing here yet undoubtedly adequate. |
OVERALL – 2.5/5 |
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Greta was actually a disappointing movie. What could’ve been a fun little B-flick instead had a half-baked script and some rather forgettable performances from both Huppert and Moretz, the former never quite disturbing or menacing. This is at best a movie you might want to wait to debut on Netflix. The Blu-ray itself has fine video/audio transfers but bland bonus materials. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.