For the first time on the screen together, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick incarnate in A Simple Favor two friends with diametrically opposed characters. The film morphs into a thriller psychological thriller when the charismatic and mysterious Emily (Blake Lively) disappears from one day to the next... Here is our critic:
An intriguing story
It’s hard to tell you the story without spoiling a great part of the film. But at least here is the beginning: while going to pick up her son at school, Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a young mother, perfect housewife and blogger, meets the very elegant and fascinating Emily (Blake Lively), a fashion victim working for a haute couture house. The two women become friends, share their most intimate secrets around a glass of Martini, until the day when Emily disappears brutally. While Stephanie is quite distraught to have lost her friend, strange phenomena seem to indicate her presence... The scenario is a little obvious but very efficient and often funny.
A new face for Blake Lively
The it girl, famous since her role as the cult Serena in Gossip Girl, appears in this film as a femme fatale, at the same time endearing and scary. A far cry from the desperate housewife played by Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively perfectly slips in the skin of a high-strung business woman (even a little wacky). Faithful to a passion for fashion, the character of Emily changes a great number of times.
Verdict
While A Simple Favor is not the film of the year, the wager of the psychological thriller (almost) held, the touch of humour is cleverly dosed, and the pleasure of rediscovering our Serena from Gossip Girl on the screen is enough to rush to the cinema house.
