Greta (4 Stars)

I saw this film in the cinema two years ago. I've finally bought it on Blu-ray. It's a welcome addition to my collection.

Isabelle Huppert plays the title role as a Hungarian widow pretending to be French. There's something ironic in choosing her for the role, but she fits it perfectly. The film is considered to have been a box office failure, although I don't have the necessary data to add my usual Success Ratio. That's tragic, because it's a chilling thriller that deserves to be seen.

Isabelle Huppert was voted the best actress of the 21st Century by the New York Times. That's high praise indeed. She's known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. That certainly applies to her performance in "Greta", even though it's not apparent from the start.

The film is a tale of two women. Chloe Grace Moretz plays Frances McCullen, a young woman working in New York as a waitress. She finds a handbag in the subway on her way home. She finds the owner's name in the bag and decides to return it the next day, despite her flatmate's suggestion to keep the money and throw the bag away. She finds Greta Hideg living in a cute little house between the skyscrapers in Manhattan. I didn't know there were houses like that, but why not? It just takes one home owner to love his house and not be tempted by the high land prices in the city.

Greta is obviously a lonely old woman, so Frances befriends her. Once more, this is against the objections of Frances' flatmate, who finds the relationship weird. It continues until Frances finds a collection of identical handbags that Greta has been planting in the subway to attract people to her home. In the following weeks Greta stalks Frances. The police refuse to step in, so the situation escalates.

I've been fascinated by Chloe Grace Moretz ever since I first saw her in the 2010 film "Kick Ass". It's not about her looks. She has mousey features that make her ideal for playing plain looking characters. I'm not saying she's ugly. She just has a very average face that wouldn't stand out in a crowd. What impresses me about her is her acting ability. She's not included in the New York Times top actress list, but she ought to be. She's outstanding in whatever role she plays.

Compare her with Maika Monroe, who plays her flatmate Erica. She's a stunner. She has the sort of face that would make me turn round in the street for a second look and walk into a lamp post. She's also a good actress, though not an all-round talent like Chloe. Maika specialises in science fiction and horror films.

I've never understood the marketing decisions for film releases. In America and Germany "Greta" is available on Blu-ray, but in Britain it can only be bought on DVD. Weird. I thought the days of DVDs were numbered, at least as far as new releases are concerned.

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