By Bailey Blaikie ’19

“A Simple Favor,” starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, is about two moms who each have a son the same age. While it was pitched as a thriller in the trailer, I entered the movie theatre still unsure of what to expect.

The movie opens with Kendrick, who plays Stephanie Smothers, filming a vlog saying that her friend has been missing for four days. It then goes back in time to when she first met this friend, Emily Nelson, who is played by Lively.

At first, the two don’t seem compatible as they were nearly polar opposites. Stephanie appeared as an overprotective mom who was always involved, while Emily was very absent and spent most of her time working. However, as their friendship continued, they started to share more about themselves and clicked. Emily seemed to have a dark past with something to hide, and Stephanie picked up on it.

Stephanie was a really quirky character, which made her so different from the serious Emily who was intimidating to her and almost every other parent.

One afternoon, Emily spoke to Stephanie over the phone and asked if she could do her a simple favor by picking up her son after school. She didn’t hear from Emily again.

Though the plot line sounds intense, it wasn’t a complete thriller. Instead, it was a dark twist on a romantic or comedic movie. There were funny, scary and sad parts included, but I think it maintained a good balance of the three.

The movie maintained a good pace with just the right amount of intrigue. I never knew what would happen next or what part of Emily’s past would be uncovered.

I really admired the complex story and the way the plot lines tied together. I felt immersed in Emily’s past as I simultaneously tried to connect the events to the present and solve why she went missing.

I would definitely tell everyone to see this, regardless of the types of movies you typically enjoy. I would even go back and see it again.

Rating: 4/5 stars