Yes, of course I only went to see this because Matt Lanter was in it, let's just get that out of the way. I do like Leighton though and she was totally who I left the theatre thinking about, so not a total loss.The general plot of this film is blatantly given away in the trailer, but it's basically an younger, slightly different take on Single White Female--which, I find insanely scary in a very visceral way--but, as one might assume, it doesn't *exactly* hit it out of the park. Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester plays Rebecca, an off-kilter college freshman and she rooms with Friday Night Lights' Minka Kelly as Sarah, a tragically over-canonized "unbelievable fashion talent from podunk-nowhere Iowa"...no, really. I know. Sigh. There are bit characters, Lanter as Sarah's ex Jason, Cam Gigandet as Sarah's new love, Aly Michalka as a quickly dealt with dorm mate who is stealing some of Sarah's attention away from Rebecca, etc. but to be honest, none of them really matter. At all. The film is about Rebecca and her rapid descent into crazy.
It does its job as a creepy movie, but fails utterly as a thriller since the plot is so devastatingly predictable. This is not the trailer's fault, but the script's. There are moments of shining brilliance within the film; for example, in a ploy to get Sarah to stay home with her, Rebecca goes through a gruesome self-inflicted wound moment where she beats herself up and even cuts herself with a box cutter to feign nearly being raped. The moment works because of Meester's uncanny dedication to the part, the emotion behind her eyes is nothing if not terrifying. She looks at her bruises with an appreciative love, knowing that it will get Sarah to stay with her.
The film relies heavily upon our rooting for Sarah, but Kelly is just SO unengaging and boring that I found myself pulling for Rebecca the whole time. I knew she was outside her head, but I didn't care; she was proactive, assertive...in short, bitch got shit DONE, and I loved her for it. Kelly somehow even fails to have chemistry with Cam Gigandet, her love interest. How the hell does that happen? Meester has more chemistry with a cell phone in a very racy, and disturbing as hell scene where she pretends to be Sarah while talking to Jason (Lanter).
*Note, I have been told by a very good friend of mine that Minka Kelly is capable of excellent acting as seen in Friday Night Lights, but rest assured, you won't see any of it in this film. You'll probably want Rebecca to kill her by the time it's over, just as I did.
Another interesting moment is when the roomies go "home" to Rebecca's house--er, giant fucking mansion--for Thanksgiving and it becomes obvious that Sarah is not the first girl Rebecca has done this freaky dance with. That girl happens to be Nina Dobrev, but don't hyperventilate, she only has one line.
However, with everything that happens it takes a hugely contrived scene that one could see coming from 40 minutes away. It's only then that Sarah finally wakes up out of her "I'm just a talented little bitch from Iowa with 12 year old voice" coma and realizes that Rebecca is batshit nutzo.
In the final act we see (naturally) an epic fallout between the once loving girls. Rebecca tries to earn her place back in Sarah's heart by bearing her soul and telling her all the evil she's done to "protect her" at which point a somewhat well filmed battle ensues and it isn't until Rebecca realizes Sarah intends to kill her that she really tries to end Sarah. Sarah's final line is incredibly forced, lacks any conviction whatsoever on behalf of Kelly and actually feels humorously misplaced. Not to mention that if the comment were true, it was partly Sarah's fault for not being honest with Rebecca in the firs place. (In particular, watch for a scene between the girls when they go to an art gallery. Sarah clearly does something that endears her to Rebecca even more, despite the fact that she doesn't feel that way at all.)
All in all, Meester hits an absolute home run with this role. The movie pales as a whole in comparison to her performance. There isn't a second that you don't sincerely believe she's insane. Her eyes, even the way she smiles...everything she does has a willful and frightening intent behind it, one that is subtle but visible and creepy. If you are a fan of Meester and her budding career, by all means go to this, but if you are thinking it's going to be a big break for Kelly, don't go. I implore you. She's horrendous. You don't have to go see this movie, by any stretch, but it certainly will keep you entertained for the better part of two hours. The only scenes that are palpably dragging are the ones Meester aren't in, which are thankfully few and far between. So, if you've got a spare $7 hanging round and want to get out of the house, you have my blessing to see this.
PS-I particularly enjoyed a scene between Meester and Billy Zane, who plays a toolish design professor fantastically well. If you're a dude, you will be sufficiently freaked out, as damn well you should be. ;p
