Netflix's number one film is Anna Kendrick's best of the last decade

The Netflix Top 10 lists aren't always filled with new releases. Sometimes older classics find their way to the top of the list and audiences watch them excitedly as soon as they're available on the streaming platform. While this is nothing new, the latest film to top the Netflix list is a highlight in the filmography of one of the leading actresses.

A simple favor is the 2018 crime novel by Paul Feig, which follows Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers, a beautiful mother who befriends Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), a rather absent mother who is often busy with her work for a fashion company. The unlikely pair come together shortly before Emily's sudden and worrying disappearance. Although the film did not attract much attention at the box office, it has become more popular since its release. It is not only entertaining, but A simple favor is undoubtedly Anna Kendrick's best work of the last decadefrom the character she portrays to her dynamic with her co-star.

Anna Kendrick portrays her best character yet

When A simple favor debuted, many knew Kendrick from her leading role in Pitch perfect Trilogy. Beca Mitchell is a fiery character who is arguably the exact opposite of Stephanie Smothers. Beca is someone who snubs authority and rejects the status quo, while Stephanie is the beautiful parent representative who puts all her energy into her son. But not everything is as it seems.

Stephanie is one of the most complex characters the actress has ever portrayed. Nothing about her behavior is predictable. She is introduced to the audience as a cheerful, widowed mother who is a keen volunteer at her son's school, constantly taking photos for the yearbook and also posting videos online about her child-rearing, but that's not all she is.

The widow quickly reveals her dark side. While drinking martinis with Emily, Stephanie confesses that after her father died, she not only found out she had a half-brother, but also that she slept with him. It's a revealing admission that doesn't seem to fit her character at all. This is Stephanie's “big secret,” but also the first hint that this mother isn't quite who we think she is, especially as the audience learns more about this story after Emily's disappearance.

While she is portrayed as a stereotypical PTA mom, we are introduced to the mask she wears to the world. Stephanie wants to appear as a cheerful mother who is moving on after the tragic death of her husband, but there is so much more lurking beneath the surface. It gradually comes to light as she delves deeper into Emily's life, her cheerful demeanor slipping to the side and gradually disappearing as she tries to keep the upper hand in a situation she was never meant to be in.

The chemistry between Kendrick and Lively is unmatched

Anna Kendrick is phenomenal as Stephaniewho conveys the character's changing personality with ease, but her performance is elevated by her chemistry with Blake Lively. Lively is in her element, portraying someone who is just as devious as Stephanie and lives a life just as full of lies.

The characters complement each other in a way that moves the plot along at an ideal pace. Emily undermines Stephanie at every turn, underestimates her ability to see through the ruse, and mocks her image of the “perfect parent” in the early days of their friendship. However, Stephanie meets her new friend as an equal and sheds her PTA personality when she sets a trap even though Emily doesn't see it coming. The two actresses push and tug at each other, creating a dynamic that only succeeds because of the charisma between them. Without it, Emily and Stephanie's cat-and-mouse game would come to nothing.

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It is this chemistry that A simple favor the gripping film that it is. A series of twists are only as believable as the actors selling them, and Kendrick and Lively play their roles perfectly. Even when you rewatch it knowing exactly what's going to happen, you can't help but be surprised again by Kendrick's third-act performance, or by how quickly Lively transforms from a domineering, career-driven wife to a vulnerable, damaged woman trying to overcome the pain of her past.

The Complexity of Stephanie combined with the incomparable dynamic duo of Kendrick and Lively results in a film that easily stands out as the best in Kendrick's filmography of the past decade. Nothing compares to watching Stephanie make a vlog that's actually designed to trash Emily, while coming across as nothing more than a concerned friend to everyone except those who know the truth. With a sequel in the works, viewers will once again see the actresses battle with their characters to have the last word. You can watch A simple favor now on Netflix.