Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Camp
If you enjoyed The Lobster, you’ll probably enjoy The Killing of a Sacred Deer as well.
Realistically, I could end this review right here, because without question neither film is a general audience affair, but I’ll expound a little.
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou are nothing if not experts in heightened reality. In a way, it’s fair to call their movies experimental. Not so much in a film-making sense, mind you (I wouldn’t go as far as to call them avant-garde), but more so in the way of how they set up their worlds, their narratives, and the way each affects their characters. In the case of Killing of a Sacred Deer, what appears to be a mentorship between a surgeon and an off-beat young man turns out to have a tragic genesis, and there are even more sinister revelations as the story unfolds.
Compared to The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer is much more grounded (there’s no explicit science fiction element), but it’s fair to say everything is still a bit weird. That said, as a combination of dark comedy and psychological thriller, I was on board. The performances are admittedly strange but everybody’s clearly invested in what they’re doing, there’s a lot of really great cinematography (in particular, lots of elevated steadicam shots, which I appreciated so much, and a lot of nice long closeups), and the story is a juicy slow burner.
As I said, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but The Killing of a Sacred Deer is nonetheless a quality piece of filmmaking.
If you find yourself needing a break from the usual Hollywood fare, give it a shot.
Rating: ★★★★☆
P.S.
Fair warning, the opening shot of the film is presumably an overhead view of open heart surgery, but there’s not much else to worry about if you’re squeamish; certainly nothing else to that degree.