The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Film Review)
2017 A24
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos; Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, and Bill Camp
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 121 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 0/10
Steven Murphy's got the life:
A prestigious job as a surgeon. Two beautiful children. A wife who is not only also a doctor, but into or at least permissive of his weird sexual fantasies. Wealth and power. A magnificent house.
But something's off. There's this strange teenaged boy, Martin, who he keeps meeting up with. The more Martin begins to interact with Steven's family, the more they seem to suffer. Soon enough, Steven's children are paralyzed from the waist down, and it somehow seems like Martin is responsible. Could it be because of Steven and Martin's secret and devastating shared past?...
Look, I've read Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis. Hell, I've got Euripides collected works, and I've read most if not all of them. I am quite familiar with the story upon which The Killing of a Sacred Deer is supposed to be based. I think it is one of the most powerful dramas ever written. However, a simple combing of my previous reviews will reveal that I hate no type of film more than the pretentious, high-concept one that doesn't work...and boy, do I hate The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Let's start with the performances. Every line delivered in The Killing of a Sacred Deer is done so in a strange, unnatural, monotone, wooden cadence. However, that might be for the best, considering how strange and unnatural the dialogue is. Not only does no one in this film resemble anything even close to a human being, but few of the things coming out of their mouths resemble anything a real human being would say. The seemingly random shifts in conversations only exacerbate this issue. For example, imagine that your child came up to you and said, "We need to buy more Doritos, we're out," and you responded with, "Did I ever tell you I went out on a boat once with my uncle, and a bird shit on me?" This is nowhere close to an exaggeration. Perhaps I am even underselling just how awful this aspect of the film actually is.
Over this awful dialogue and its awful delivery (by great actors, clearly being directed to deliver it so) are unsettling, extremely unnerving sound effects and soundtrack screeches clearly designed to keep the viewer on edge. But to what end? Why? The visuals are much the same. If someone is eating spaghetti, you can rest assured, we'll get macabre close-ups of their forks squishing it around, and their mouths chewing it. A kid biting of chunk of his own arm? Sure. And again, I ask, to what end? Euripides' play is ripe with an exploration of human behavior and fate. This movie doesn't even feature a damn human, but strange beings who act nonsensically and illogically (a "But hey, humans act nonsensically and illogically" doesn't work when your characters aren't even initially recognizable as humans). I haven't seen another Lanthimos film, but "all of his movies are like this" isn't an excuse for a movie being terrible. I hope they aren't because if so, I hate all of his movies.
Look, I've read Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis. Hell, I've got Euripides collected works, and I've read most if not all of them. I am quite familiar with the story upon which The Killing of a Sacred Deer is supposed to be based. I think it is one of the most powerful dramas ever written. However, a simple combing of my previous reviews will reveal that I hate no type of film more than the pretentious, high-concept one that doesn't work...and boy, do I hate The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Let's start with the performances. Every line delivered in The Killing of a Sacred Deer is done so in a strange, unnatural, monotone, wooden cadence. However, that might be for the best, considering how strange and unnatural the dialogue is. Not only does no one in this film resemble anything even close to a human being, but few of the things coming out of their mouths resemble anything a real human being would say. The seemingly random shifts in conversations only exacerbate this issue. For example, imagine that your child came up to you and said, "We need to buy more Doritos, we're out," and you responded with, "Did I ever tell you I went out on a boat once with my uncle, and a bird shit on me?" This is nowhere close to an exaggeration. Perhaps I am even underselling just how awful this aspect of the film actually is.
Over this awful dialogue and its awful delivery (by great actors, clearly being directed to deliver it so) are unsettling, extremely unnerving sound effects and soundtrack screeches clearly designed to keep the viewer on edge. But to what end? Why? The visuals are much the same. If someone is eating spaghetti, you can rest assured, we'll get macabre close-ups of their forks squishing it around, and their mouths chewing it. A kid biting of chunk of his own arm? Sure. And again, I ask, to what end? Euripides' play is ripe with an exploration of human behavior and fate. This movie doesn't even feature a damn human, but strange beings who act nonsensically and illogically (a "But hey, humans act nonsensically and illogically" doesn't work when your characters aren't even initially recognizable as humans). I haven't seen another Lanthimos film, but "all of his movies are like this" isn't an excuse for a movie being terrible. I hope they aren't because if so, I hate all of his movies.
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