The Killing Of A Sacred Deer — London Film Festival Review
It’s incredibly easy to spot a Yorgos Lanthimos flick, with his clinical, darkly humorous look at disturbing or tough subjects. The Greek director’s latest, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, is a domestic horror with the mildest supernatural edge that at times resembles Michael Haneke in its voyeuristic feeling, while featuring some of the best cinematography and most disturbing sequences of the year. I’m not sure it’s as effective as Dogtooth or The Lobster, but it’s another hit for one of the most unique filmmakers working.
The movie stars Colin Farrell, returning from The Lobster, as successful cardiologist Steven, who lives in an immaculate but mildly impersonal household with his wife, fellow doctor Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two children. Steven has formed a bond with Martin, a teenager whose father died on Steven’s operating table some years back, and as their connection intensifies the family finds themselves under tragic circumstances, with Steven forced to make an impossible choice.
Lanthimos, working with his usual collaborators co-writer Efthymis Filippou and cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis, is fully in control of the material. The visuals are sublime in every way, with absolutely gorgeous shot composition and an excellent use of slow zooms to help with the unsettling tone. Script-wise, the film has the director’s usual detached dialogue, with the family dynamic largely consisting of pleasantries (even when personal secrets are casually revealed to outsiders), yet the firm grasp of tone means the characters’ issues are still deeply felt. Lanthimos chooses to make the theme and “point” (if you will) of the movie a mystery for much of the running time, meaning when it is revealed it flips your feelings on certain characters in a very satisfying way.
Farrell has already proven many times that he’s a better performer then people give him credit for, but these recent collaborations with Lanthimos show that he can do a lot with very challenging material, portraying the bushy-bearded Steven as mild-mannered, strange, frustrated, and overly proud all at once. Kidman has had a hell of a year — from her wonderful work in The Beguiled to her Emmy-winning performance in Big Little Lies — and this is another fantastic role for her, as a professional whose family is falling apart. The entire cast is strong (even HBO favourite Bill Camp shows up and kills it), but other specific highlights are Dunkirk’s Barry Keoghan as Martin, portraying loneliness and neediness while also being ultra-sinister, and Raffey Cassidy as teenage daughter Kim, vulnerable and defiant throughout.
In the end, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer proves to be a horrifying and uncomfortable look at the refusal to accept consequences, but doesn’t quite gel together the same way as Lanthomis’ best — it’s certainly his most scattered film yet. But anyone who sits down to watch should find themselves enthralled, perturbed, and satisfied. I’m very glad this madman found his way into Hollywood somehow.
