Blake Lively returned in Another Simple Favor, and this time, the psychological stakes were even higher as she brought her most unsettling performance to date
Blake Lively reprises her role as Emily Nelson, revealed in the first film to be Hope McLendon and dives headfirst into the madness once again, this time facing someone even more unpredictable than herself.
In the 2018 original, Lively played a double role as estranged twins Emily and Faith. However, Another Simple Favor delivers a shocking twist: a third triplet, Charity, presumed dead at birth, is alive.
Delivered secretly by their aunt and raised in isolation, Charity’s reappearance takes the thriller to disturbing new depths.
Blake Lively, speaking at the SXSW Film & TV Festival, admitted she had no nerves initially, until director Paul Feig threw her a last-minute curveball by introducing the long-lost triplet into the script.
“It definitely upped the ante,” Lively said. “It was very uncomfortable to watch with an audience. It felt like personal torture.”
The film’s most controversial moment comes when Charity, deranged from years in isolation, subjects a kidnapped and defenceless Emily to an implied non-consensual encounter.
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Feig explained that the scene was rooted in Charity’s warped view of relationships, describing her fixation with someone who looks exactly like her. “She sees Emily as another doll that she possesses,” Feig said.
This moment marks a turning point for Blake Lively’s Emily. “It’s the first time she’s truly outplayed,” said Feig.
“Psychologically dominated and shaken to her core.” This unusual shift helps build a reluctant bond between Emily and her longtime frenemy Stephanie, portrayed by Anna Kendrick.
Feig credited Blake Lively’s trust in the process for making the character’s transformation work. “She was like, ‘Let’s try it,’ and she went for it,” he said.
With Another Simple Favor pushing boundaries, Blake Lively proves once again why Emily is her most daring and twisted role yet—one that continues to fascinate and disturb in equal measure.
