The Girlfriend–Really?
In this melodramatic thriller, based on Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel The Girlfriend, Laura (Robin Wright) has it all: a highly successful career as a gallery owner, tremendous wealth, a loving husband, and her prized son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson), a doctor. When Daniel brings home Cherry (Olivia Cooke), his current girlfriend, the mother-son relationship is revealed as an obsession.
When Daniel looks for an apartment, a very expensive one, Cherry is determined to have him as her boyfriend and enjoy his family’s luxe lifestyle. Although she adores Daniel, he also has the lifestyle she always imagined attaining. The pace and seriousness of the young couple’s romance threaten Daniel’s mother. Moreover, Laura is also put off by Cherry’s vague answers regarding her upbringing.
Nothing is as it seems, almost from the start. Introduced to Cherry by a besmitten Daniel, Laura is suspicious almost as soon as Cherry walks through the front door. Having come from a very privileged upbringing, Laura assumes Cherry will be similarly situated. But she’s not. The daughter of a single mother, a butcher shop owner, Cherry is a struggling real estate agent. And Daniel, as a new physician, is not concerned with finances or personal background. He loves Cherry as obsessively as Laura loves him. Cherry knows that. And so does Laura.
The inevitable fracture in the mother-son relationship grows cancerous. Daniel can’t choose between Laura and Cherry, but both insist that he does. The hapless husband, Howard (Waleed Zuaiter), at first believes his wife has a good heart but misunderstands Cherry. And Cherry is highly manipulative with regard to Howard’s grief over a family accident. That relationship between Howard and Cherry will prove disastrous.
The structure of The Girlfriend alternates between Cherry’s version of an event and Laura’s. Laura and Cherry are locked in a devious and diabolical war with each other. The Girlfriend forces the audience to question everything they’ve seen. Rashomon-like, who is to be believed? It is virtually impossible to choose sides. The unexpected finale is jaw-dropping and horrific, karma playing out in the most painful of ways.
The brilliant performances by Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke are highly charged. Wright’s interpretation of Laura reveals the pathological–almost sexual– obsession of a mother-son relationship gone berserk, like “Bates Motel”. Robin Wright embodies the unraveling of a broken heart, devolving into insanity. And Olivia Cooke plays the demonic personality of Cherry as icy and hyper-rational, calmly damaging her target. Neither of the performances would work without the other in a riveting, excruciating yet brilliantly manic pas-de-deux. Their muscular energy and formidable skills promise to raise the viewer’s metabolism.
Availability: Amazon Prime