directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
On recommendation of Jay and Mike of Red Letter Media, I checked out a cult favorite horror/drama/dark comedy movie of last year, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. I was more horrified and filled with stressful tension than able to laugh the movie off, and I hope I can convey why without spoiling too much of the movie.
Colin Farrell plays a heart surgeon, Steven Murphy, who has recently lost a 46-year-old patient on the table during an operation after he had a car accident. The man’s son, Martin, is a familiar face for Steven. Martin is a classmate of his daughter who the good doctor was interesting in due to his strange psychological issues and his affinity for wanting to become a heart surgeon himself someday.
After his father’s death, Martin finds ways to wedge himself in the doctor’s life, sometimes for dinner, then dinner with his widowed mother, then trying to get his mother to cheat on his wife with his mother, and finally for simple talks over apple pie. The doctor tries to distance himself from Martin after his mother tries to put the moves on him, but after a freak occurrence with the doctor’s son, Bob – who loses his ability to stand and walk- Martin is waiting in the hospital room with Bob to finally get a chance to tell the doctor that his son’s ailments will not be the last of his family member’s problems. He is systematically causing a four-stage process of each one of his family members’ deaths unless he chooses to kill just one of his family members within three days – “the sacred deer.” It turns out that the good doctor used to take the edge off of surgeries with a couple of drinks, and he had a few before Martin’s father’s surgery.
“I don’t know if what is happening is fair, but…it’s the only thing I can think of that is close enough to justice.”
Without knowledge of how Martin is able to paralyze these family members, the audience is left to suggest that perhaps some supernatural power is given to the grieving Martin in order to do so, the same way he is able to make the doctor’s daughter, Kim, paralyzed, then “allow” her to walk to the window just to see him in one scene. The mystery element leaves a lot to be desired by the end, but the trip through this turmoil will leave you bewildered, sad, angry, and completely rattled.
Matching the Kubrickian-camera work and pacing, the score is absolutely goosebump-inducing. Experimental compositions by Sofiya Gubaydulina for the “bayan” accordion work beautifully here, down to the end-credits dark ambient “theme” called “Hecatone” by Johnnie Burn, with its mechanical breathing sounds reminding us of the heartbeat that caused all this. Back to the camerawork, IMDB trivia states that the cinematography might have borrowed a lot from the paintings of Edward Hopper, but I felt more like they were obvious Kubrick homages to 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining more than anything. …Sacred Deer feels like a companion-piece to a number of Kubrick’s films, especially for the existence of Nicole Kidman in the film (who was in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut).
IMDB trivia points to a lot of other deep-cut knowledge about the film, like how Kim got an A+ on the essay she wrote on the Greek mythology Iphigenia in Aulis, where a daughter was to be sacrificed for the sins of her father. However, if that sounds like a dead giveaway (pun intended) as to who dies by the end, you’ll be surprised how the doctor resolves this scenario.
Aforementioned Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman are so great in this. They know how to balance these characters completely, especially when it comes to losing their regular robotic-yet-intelligent composure when their kids start getting sick for no reason. The kids, Bob and Kim, are played by Sunny Suljic and Raffey Cassidy, respectively, and their role as paraplegic children makes you respect their acting abilities. I was especially impressed with Raffey’s look, dialect and singing ability throughout the film; it made her feel like an alien being researched and controlled by Martin (as he slowly became closer romantically with her in the movie) without losing her 15-year-old wonder of her boyfriend.
The star of the movie is Barry Keoghan, in my humble opinion. He takes a lot from the Sixth Sense-meets-Gummo book on acting in this movie, as he learns his confidence through this power of justice he brings upon the family. You wonder if the boy has some form of autism early in the movie, but he knows what he must do to meet his objectives. The intelligent choices made for this character are enough to haunt you even when he doesn’t return for several scenes. Referring back to his mysterious powers in this movie, it makes the character even more interesting somehow, too.
I rated the film 8/10 stars on IMDB simply because I haven’t seen such an unsettling movie come from a director in awhile, but I haven’t seen Lanthimos’ other indie-darling movies such as The Lobster, Alps, or Dogtooth, so I don’t know if this is just another film by the man or a standout from the rest. Some enjoyed it’s dark comedy; I never got that. I suppose one way of dealing with stress is to laugh at the difficult, absurd situation, but I was more worried and curious about the resolution than laughing it off. I enjoyed the thoughtful nature of the dialogue, change in tone from the first half to the rest, the score, the additional music (like Raffey singing Ellie Goulding’s “Burn”), the oddball-yet-beautiful nature of the camerawork and tracking, and the bravery to “go there” when it comes to a dark story that ends unlike typical films.
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