Day
111 The
Killing of a Sacred Deer [2017]
Screenplay Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou
Based on ‘Iphegenia at Aulis’ by Euripides
Director Yorgos Lanthimos
Cinematography Thimios Bakatakis
Music Nick
Payne & Sarah Giles
Leads Colin
Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia
Silverstone, Bill Camp
Production Film4, New Sparta Films, HanWay Films, The Irish
Film Board, Element Pictures, Limp
IMDb 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes 79%
After
Lanthimos’ last film, The Lobster (which is excellent by the way), I was
expecting something weird and wonderful with this. The trailer literally gives
nothing away, just like the first half an hour or so of this film. All we know
is cardiac surgeon Steven (Farrell) and his wife Anna (Kidman) live a stable
life in a beautiful home with their two children. Steven meets with a teenage
boy, Martin (Keoghan), every so often and as the movie ticks along Lanthimos
slowly unveils their relationship and it all gets rather messy. That’s about as
far as I want to explain the plot. Perhaps suitable that it is a modern
recreation of the story of Iphigenia - a Greek tragedy it certainly is. Both
Steven and Anna are socially odd in their interactions, but this is an already
classic style of dialogue that Lanthimos likes to use. It’s incredibly absurd,
honest conversation that unsettles the viewer alongside darting glances and
awkward body language. Every character cringes and jars you and I found myself
squirming in my seat. None more so than Barry Keoghan’s character. He is
excellent, with appearances in this, Dunkirk (Day 38) and American Animals
(out later this year and already gaining repute on the festival circuit) he is
a star in the making. You don’t know whether to laugh at him or punch him in
the face. I hated his character, but I always feel that when a movie stirs up
hatred within me towards a particular character then the actor must be doing a
pretty good job. Farrell continues his good work from The Lobster and
Kidman slips into her role as if she had played it a hundred times. Bakatakis
works the camera with incredible juxtaposition. One minute you have a beautiful
wide shot with the sun glittering through trees, the next you have a moody low
tracking shot of Steven walking through dimly lit hospital corridors, and then
you have gruesome personal close-ups (make sure you haven’t eaten recently for
the opening scene). It keeps you on your toes, as does the jumpy sound track
which sent shivers down my spine each time the music kicked in. The timing
seems so off-kilter and yet worked. I felt off-balance for the whole film. I
didn’t much like the ending, but you can’t win them all. This one is not for
everyone.
Acting 4 / 4
Writing 3.5 / 4
Cinematography 3.5 / 4
Music 3.5 / 4
HWF rating 3.5 / 4
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