Girl review: Bella Thorne and Mickey Rourke (!) square off in a gritty revenge thriller [Fantastic Fest/CIFF]

Fresh off of her recent OnlyFans kerfuffle, Bella Thorne takes the lead in Girl, a gritty revenge thriller filled with enough twists to make M. Night Shyamalan’s head spin.

Thorne stars as the titular unnamed “girl,” a young woman who sets off from her small town to track down and kill her deadbeat father. Before he left the family, her father attacked her mother, leaving her in constant pain. When a note from her father suddenly appears threatening to kill her mother, Thorne takes off to kill him, setting off a chain of events that sees her facing off against a brutal small-town sheriff (Mickey Rourke) and a volatile young man (Chad Faust, who also directed the film).  

Girl starts off as a fairly standard revenge thriller before things really get interesting in the latter half of the film. Layers of deceit and hidden family history come to light as Thorne tries to uncover the truth about her father while battling against the unhinged sheriff and his mysterious flunky, both of whom have plenty of secrets of their own.

Thorne is entirely convincing as a tough young woman out to set things right at any costs and plays perfectly against Rourke’s grizzly and unhinged sheriff (even though his mealy-mouthed dialogue is nearly incomprehensible at times).

Shot in Northern Ontario, Faust creates the perfect middle-of-nowhere setting for this involving thriller. With great performances from the film’s cleverly cast leads, a dose of intense violence, and enough emotional heft to balance all the plot twists, Girl is well worth seeking out.

Girl screened as part of the virtual Fantastic Fest 2020 Celebration. The film is also screening during the virtual Calgary International Film Festival through October 4.