The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Review)

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This seems to be the unspoken rule of Yorgos Lanthimos’s new film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. As to how the rule is represented throughout the film would mean talking spoilers, so I will have a spoiler section towards the end of this review.

The film opens with classical music playing over black. Then light hits the face and we see what we can presume is a heart. The shot slowly zooms out to reveal that this is a surgery. After we see the surgeon, Colin Farrell, take off his scrubs. The opening sets up the rest of the movie as we’re about to see the surgeon and his family exposed to change in a way that leaves them with little dignity or humanity.

Here we see Lanthimos return to explore the family dynamic, which he hasn’t since 2009’s Dogtooth. He mixes it up this time by presenting us a healthy family. A happily married husband and wife (Nicole Kidman) with their son (Sunny Suljic) and daughter (Raffey Cassidy) to seem to be facing regular teenage problems. Meanwhile, Farrell is meeting up with a teenage boy for reasons which are unclear at first. This slowly puts pressure on the family which build throughout the film until the very end.

If you haven’t seen The Lobster the acting style in this film could take getting some use to. It’s a bit wooden and flat. As the film goes on this style really lets the script shine as the dialogue is almost lyrical. After re-watching The Lobster recently I am not sure that that style is pulled off well but the story here is more suited to it. Very quickly you will get a sense of Stanley Kubrick’s influence here. The obvious influence is the cinematography, which I will get to in a soon, but the acting yells Kubrick. You get a sense that the actors are worn out and have done 20 takes and are just going through the lines instead of adding nuance.

It would be very easy to write the performances in this film off as ‘lacking humanity’ but by stripping away grandiose emotion and nuance, I think the cast manage to showcase what it means to be alive. The hurdles and obstacles characters face in this film aren’t to become a better boxer or to save the princess or get away with a bank robbery. A family dynamic is present in not only humans but other species of animals too. A man and woman mate to have children then they raise them. Parents are protective of their children and when Farrell has to make a decision in regards to his children, his primal instincts take over.

Nicole Kidman is an actress I have never really cared for as her performances are very wooden but here she fits the movie perfectly. One of my favourite scenes in this film is a conversation between and Colin Farrell and she delivers a short monologue. I felt like she was reciting a poem as the words effortlessly roll off her tongue. After another film together I would be comfortable to call Lanthimos and Farrell one of today's great actor and director collaborations. While not an artistic merit of the film it was refreshing to see a couple where the female actor is older (about seven to be exact). Martin, played by Barry Keoghan, has shown us this year that he is a face to keep an eye on.

The cinematography of Kubrick and its influence is felt very early. Lanthimos and his regular DoP Thimios Bakatakis make use of the hospital hallways in the film by using one-point perspective, a staple of Kubrick’s work. Nice crisp zooms are also very present which helps the internal rhythm of scenes as if two shots were used, a close and wide for the same shot it would change a scene and not for the greater good. Every shot's composition is crafted with care, even when it seems like it isn't. Sometimes only half an actor can be seen in the frame, often to give more attention to the other actor. One shot of Kidman, early on, has almost the top half of her head off-screen. The coverage of conversations is always interesting and it never relies on shot-reverse shot.

Movies are also 50% sound and going into this film Lanthimos new that and he employs sound designer Johnnie Burn (Under the Skin) for the second time after The Lobster. A mixture of an original score and pre-existing music is used in the film but the pieces were chosen to accompany the montages and emotional high points are what gives this film an edge. An edge that will make you want to turn your head as the characters fall down a pit of despair. Most other contemporary horror films lack an atmospheric score in likes of Halloween and The Shining. Another exception to this rule is Under the Skin. Both this film and Under the Skin wants you to notice the music. Both make you shift around in your seat. The sound design knows when it wants you to make you jump by utilising the right sound the right moments. Between the precision composition, zooms and the unnerving score this film echoes The Shinning.

SPOILER SECTION

The teenage boy in the film, Martin, has an unusual connection to Steven and his family. It’s slowly revealed that Steven performed surgery on Martin’s Dad several years back and he didn’t survive. Steven feels somewhat guilty for the death but he denies that it was his fault despite having several drinks not long before the surgery. Martin invites Steven over for dinner one night and Martin heads off to bed early leaving Steven with his mother (Alicia Silverstone). She comments on how nice his hands are and makes a move on him and he rejects her. Had Steven decided to have an affair with her he wouldn’t be left with the ultimatum that he has to face later in the film.

Martin is looking for someone to take the role of his father and who more fitting that the well-off surgeon who ‘could’ be at fault for his father death. Since Steven won’t take the role of Martin decides to go for another course of action and even things up. Take someone close from Steven. One morning Steven’s son is paralysed and is then taken to the hospital he works at. He seems to recover until it happens again on his way out of the hospital. Martin visits the hospital to reveal his ultimatum. He is the reason his son can’t walk and it will soon happen to other members of his family until they start bleeding from their eyes and will all soon die. To save them all he must kill one of them.

This ‘yin-yang’ balance continues throughout the film. Examples include...

• Both Steven and Martin are offered sex from women and both refuse.

• Martin losing a Dad and wanting a replacement

• Steven twice sees something someone else is wearing and goes out to buy it as a gift for Martin

• Martin eats a substantial amount of spaghetti when confronted by the mother while her kids are unable to eat.

One of the most striking images in the film is when the mother and her kids confront Martin after he's been tied up in their basement and the mother kisses his feet. The wide shot in this scene is probably the most visual the film gets when it comes to its religious allegories. The film itself is based on the story of the Greek figure Agamemnon. While not a god per se, Greek figures as we see them do seem to have similar intentions to biblical counterparts (moral stories in a time before everyone could read so stories were told to incite morals upon the working class). At the end of 'Iphigenia in Aulis', a play featuring Agamemnon, a deer sits upon the throne of Iphigenia. This is probably what Lanthimos is referencing when we see the family (minus Steven) succumb to Martin.

Exactly how Steven's kids stop walking is never explained except by that Martin is somehow behind this. At one-point, when the family still doubt his ability, he lets their daughter (the pair seem to be close) walk to the window of their hospital room. Martin suffers from Neurodevelopmental disorder and this could be part of the story behind his 'powers'.

Martin is easily a more compelling villain if you can call him that, than all the superhero films coming out today. His motives are tied to our protagonist's mistake and when he is let go by the family they have realised their father's mistakes and therefore decide he is not at fault. This motive may seem unusual as the people who let him go from his captivity are the three people who might die but by doing this they reach their self revelation in the story and the last five minutes of the film are simply the new equilibrium for our main characters.

End Spoiler Section

I probably do have more to say about this film that includes spoiling little points in the film buy only seeing the film once isn't enough as I'm sure I missed some details. This will certainly be a film I will buy on Blu-Ray and possibly write about in more detail.

By some this will be considered a horror film and for others just a really messed up, unique thriller. For most however, it will be seen as a film by a filmmaker with a strong cinematic voice even if it isn't always clear what he is trying to say in this chapter of his career. If you decide to look closely I am sure you will find a very rewarding experience. This is a film that is best enjoyed in a cinema full of people.

Overall Score: 10/10

What do you think of The Killing of a Sacred Deer? Let me know in the comments.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is in limited release around the country.

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Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou

Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone and Bill Camp

Cinematography: Thimios Bakatakis

Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis