Greta (2019) * * *

Directed by:  Neil Jordan

Starring:  Isabelle Huppert, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Colm Feore, Stephen Rea

A naïve, grieving young woman finds a purse on a New York City subway and decides to return it to the owner.    Her roommate and best friend advises simply taking the cash out of her change purse and calling it a day.   But Frances (Moretz) wants to do the right thing, and Greta is about how Frances should have followed her friend's advice and walked away a few dollars richer.  

We've seen movies about roommates from hell, boyfriends/girlfriends from hell, and in the case of Greta a newfound friend who wants to be your momma from hell.    When Frances returns the purse to the quiet home of Greta (Huppert), the purse's owner, she and Greta become fast friends.    Frances recently lost her mother and Greta fills that void.   Greta's daughter is said to have moved to Paris and her husband recently died, so Frances helps slake her loneliness.   Their blissful friendship doesn't last long, as Frances discovers a secret which turns Greta from kindly, lonely woman to full-on stalker.

Frances invites Greta to stay out of her life, but Greta is a clinger to the nth degree.   She stands across the street from the restaurant where Frances waits tables and stares for hours.    The inevitable truths about Greta come out, and her unwillingness to go away makes her even scarier.    Huppert doesn't turn Greta into a stark-raving mad woman.   She is menacing, yes, but also sad and pathetic.   Is she so lonely she is driven to such obsession with Frances, or is there something darker and more disturbing at play?  

Chloe Grace Moretz is the picture of innocence and naivete.   So innocent in fact, she seems to believe Greta will simply go away, or fall for a ruse dreamed up by her roommate Erica (Monroe), who thinks something is off about Greta even without meeting her.    It is just an odd friendship which gives Erica creepy vibes, and we learn soon enough those vibes are warranted.    Frances is just the type of sweet woman who doesn't want to cause a scene which attracts predators like Greta.  

Directed and co-written by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), Greta is not without its plot holes.    For instance, where does Greta get all of the drugs she uses to knock out unsuspecting threats like a private eye who comes snooping around?    And what happens if a male decided to return the purse instead of a female?    But, no matter, because Greta is campy to be sure, but on that level it is involving and disturbing enough to recommend.