The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos | 121 minutes | drama, horror, thriller | Actors: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Alicia Silverstone, Raffey Cassidy, Barry Keoghan, Bill Camp, Sunny Suljic, Denise Barone, Josephine Elle, Jerry Pope, Lea Hutton Beasmore, Ming Wang, Rachael Mcadams, Nathaniel Sizemore, William Willet, Charles Poole , William Cross

Cardiologist Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) has a happy life. He has a beautiful and smart wife (Nicole Kidman) who is an ophthalmologist herself, two very correct teenagers, a nice house and his job brings him satisfaction. However, nothing is what it seems in the abstract film ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’. An encounter with Martin (Barry Keoghan), the son of a deceased heart patient, sets a macabre continuation of his hitherto serene family life.

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos knows exactly what he is doing. If you’ve already watched ‘The Lobster’ (2015) with despair and perhaps disgust, Lanthimos will certainly not disappoint you. One thing is certain: you will become uncomfortable. Obscene scenes, (too) candid confessions that border on the unthinkable regularly baffle you. But that’s no surprise if you’ve seen ‘The Lobster’ or ‘Dogtooth’ (2009). This film, like its predecessors, is not for everyone. Either you conform to what you see or you cannot identify with it. It can be said that Yorgos Lanthimos makes eccentric films.

The choice of music for monotonous hysterical accordions and singing saws in a low tone like a howling wind give this film an extra charge. That in turn serves as a perfect counterpoint to the presence of sexual (self) gratification by the actors throughout the plot.

Both Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell are completely staccato in their roles. They speak their sentences without emotion or empathy. No laughter or exuberant feelings. Family life exists, but without real warm love from parents to children and vice versa. The camera follows in their footsteps and often films from an uneasy distance. As said before, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ is not for the big “blockbuster” audience, but intrigues up to and including. A nice addition to the bizarre oeuvre of Yorgos Lanthimos.