A Simple Favor Review

A crafty noir mystery, A Simple Favor will keep you guessing until the end.

Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie, an involved single mother with a vlog, who ends up becoming friends with a more mysterious, elitist almost, mother played by Blake Lively. The two actresses flaunt strong chemistry as their characters bond over martinis telling stories. Then, everything is flipped upside down when Emily (Blake Lively) disappears and Stephanie is left wondering what happened.

A Simple Favor is all about its two leads; Kendrick skillfully plays Stephanie with a naïve innocence while Lively is able to create this beautiful menace in Emily. Both actresses take their characters and run with them, as their performances get even better as the film progresses and their characters develop. Kendrick flourishes in moments of Stephanie’s uncertainty, whilst attaching her real-life quirkiness to the character; truly a standout performance.

The film benefits from its ability to synthesize dark-comedy and suspense to create a humorous affair with the added benefit of keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. The startling effect and amount of suspense the film is able to derive simply from shoes and clothes reappearing in a closet is impressive. There are plenty of twists and turns, and as you think you’re finally piecing the clues together, you’re forced to scramble them all up again. The French pop soundtrack does its part in creating the mishmash of lighter and darker tones and the clothing designs match the film’s peculiar nature. I don’t really understand the complaints of the movie’s third act – it’s an unpredictable ending fitting of an unpredictable movie.

A Simple Favor is not a chick flick and feels very fresh and original (excluding the fact it is adapted from a book). Do yourself a favor, and try to make it out to see this one. 8/10

Author: Teddy Frederick

Movies have been my passion since I was a young teenager. I had realized how much I loved going to the theater and watching something on the big screen, and I wanted to feel that sensation as often as possible. I began seeing as many movies as my schedule and wallet could allow, and in wanting to give back to the film community and myself, I wrote film reviews. I first posted them under the audience reviews of Rotten Tomatoes; if I ever go back to those posts now I cringe at the writer I used to be. In 2018, I had the idea to start my own space to post my content and thus Movie Reviews Today was born. I am a film and media studies student at Arizona St. University. I am also a three-year shift supervisor with Starbucks. My hope is to soak up as many movies and movie knowledge as I can moving forward and to share my passion with my readers. View all posts by Teddy Frederick