|
In suburban Connecticut,
upper-class high schooled Amanda euthanizes her crippled horse with a
knife, resulting in charges of animal cruelty.
Sometime later, Amanda arrives at the home of the more popular and
academically inclined Lily. The girls were previously best friends but
grew apart after the death of Lily's father. They meet under the pretence
of hanging out and having a casual tutoring session, but Amanda knows that
her mother has paid Lily to socialize with Amanda. Lily denies being paid,
but Amanda, who says that she does not experience emotions due to an
unspecified mental disorder, is unfazed. Lily meets with Amanda again,
this time voluntarily, and they rekindle their friendship.
Lily lives with her mother Cynthia and stepfather Mark, whom she hates.
One night, Amanda asks if Lily has ever thought about killing Mark,
upsetting Lily. However, tensions flare between Lily and Mark when Mark
enrols Lily in a boarding school for girls with behavioural issues. After
seeing him berate Cynthia, Lily reconsiders and calls Amanda about the
notion of killing him. She proposes that Amanda perform the murder as
Amanda would not experience guilt. However, Amanda believes that her
pending animal-cruelty trial would make her an immediate suspect. They
decide instead to blackmail drug dealer Tim (who had previously been in
jail for statutory rape) into murdering Mark while the two girls are out
of town. On the night of the planned murder, Tim arrives at the property
but leaves without killing Mark. The girls agree not to contact Tim again,
as his own criminal history will prevent him from alerting the police.
Lily impulsively prepares to kill Mark herself but is talked out of it by
Amanda.
One night, Lily and Amanda are watching a film at Lily's home when Lily
reveals she spiked Amanda's drink with Rohypnol so she could stab Mark to
death and frame Amanda. Lily attempts to back out of the plan, but Amanda,
realizing a life spent without emotions is "meaningless," willingly
finishes her drink. While Amanda falls unconscious, Lily murders Mark and
smears Amanda with his blood, crying and holding her for comfort.
Sometime later, Lily encounters Tim, who now works as a restaurant valet.
Following Mark's death, Lily has once again found academic success and is
interviewing for college admission. They talk about the murder (though
Lily lies about what really happened), and Lily mentions having received a
letter from Amanda, who has been committed to a psychiatric hospital for
the crime. The letter is shown to detail Amanda's life at the hospital,
including a recurring dream about a future in which humans let the world
fall into disarray due to their vanity, leading to it being overrun by
thoroughbred horses. Amanda smiles at a photo of her and Lily together,
riding horses. When Tim asks what the letter said, Lily says she threw it
away without reading it. |
Optimised for Google Chrome
