Anthony Kirby gets trapped in Neil Jordan’s latest film, Greta, which screened at this year’s Dublin Film Festival.

After a six year hiatus auteur/director Neil Jordan makes a brilliant return to cinema with this suspenseful gothic chiller.

Boston-born Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz)  finds a designer handbag on the subway while returning from work as a waitress in a five-star restaurant. She’s anxious to return it and tracks down the owner, Greta Hideg, (Isabelle Huppert). Greta is a French-born piano teacher who lives in a beautiful brownstone apartment and  loves Liszt, especially his haunting Liebestraum . Visiting her for afternoon tea, Frances is troubled by a loud banging which even Greta’s piano virtuosity can’t drown out. “ Oh they’re remodelling the next apartment,” says Greta offhandedly.

Frances is mourning the recent death of her mother and immersing herself in work. Greta still mourns the death of her daughter some years earlier. The younger and older women seem to find succour in each other.

Frances shares a sumptuous apartment with streetwise New York native Erica ( Malika Monroe , Widows).  Erica is cautious about Frances’s new friendship and says so . Then on a subsequent visit while looking for condiments while about to enjoy dinner with Greta, Frances opens a wrong drawer and finds ten bags identical to the designer bag she returned to Greta. Alarmed, she makes a lame excuse and a quick exit. It is then that things take a turn for the worse as Frances realises she has been lured into Greta’s web.

Great actors such as Christopher Plummer in All the Money in the World , Fay Dunaway in  Mommie Dearest  and Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction enjoy the challenge of playing demented characters.  Isabelle Huppert is no exception and relishes giving a no holds barred performance. Kudos again to Jordan for his encouragement. What follows is a masterful tale of obsession and suspense, co-written by Jordan alongside Ray Wright.

It’s hard to say who’s having more fun Hubbert or Jordan . Of course neither have anything to prove at this point in their careers. Seamus McGarvey’s camera work is excellent without being obtrusive especially in the final scenes. The only sad thing about this thriller is that Jordan stalwart Stephen Rea and Irish Canadian Colm Fiore are so underused.

Ultimately the film is a triumph on the part of Jordan and Huppert and certainly a feather in young Chloe Grace Morentz’s cap.  Perhaps like Fatal Attraction  it will become something of a classic.

Greta screened on 2nd March 2019 as part of the Dublin International Film Festival (20th February – 3rd March).

 

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