The Killing Of A Sacred Deer reviewed by Mark Kermode
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- Опубліковано 2 лис 2017
- Mark Kermode reviews The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. A surgeon with a perfect life and family is forced into an impossible decision by the teenage boy he befriends.
Please tell us what you think of the film -- or Mark’s review of the film - below. We love to include your views on the show every Friday.
www.bbc.co.uk/5live
Fridays at 2pm on BBC 5 live. - Фільми й анімація
Have anyone noticed that when the father goes to school to ask, I am assuming, a principal about the children ("which one is better?" question), the principal mentions that the daughter wrote a paper on The Tragedy of Iphigenia...and got an A...
A tip: watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching loads of movies during the lockdown.
Yeah, Lanthimos says they didn't set out to write something related to it, but once they realised their story was similar they wanted to add a little reference in to it.
@@johnnypopstar You might notice that when the daughter is pleading with the father towards the end, she's speaking in a very old world/ancient Greek style. She's basically replaying the paper she wrote because she was so read up on a similar situation.
@@JackieSwisher619 how so?🤔
Indeed ! The film was so beautifully made !
Barry Keoghan is absolutely psychotic in this
But he doesnt do the killing..?!??
I love Barry keoghan
he looked like a bully who grew up from me across the street from me. esp when he got those bruises on his face.
Yes. He is amazing because he makes his character credible despite bing completrely extraordinary.
in bruges is one of my favorites. there was humor 'you heed the canadian' and other scenes. i don't know if it's still on youtube, but there were some deleted scenes with fiennes. he too was hilarious sometimes. the soundtrack was great too. it was only the shootings/suicides/almost suicide that were not funny.
The dread and tension in this film just builds and builds like not much else this year I think. A really cool retelling of an old Greek Tragedy.
Karl Karlos that's a spoiler. Ive edited this comment so I don't upset anyone else in the comments
adamtzsch sorry mate. In my defence it is the actual title of the movie..
“Iphigenia at Aulis”. King Agamemnon accidentally killed one of Artemis’ sacred deer, and Artemis wanted to punish him. In the beginning she interfered with the winds so that the Greek fleet could not sail to Troy. Agamemnon asked the seer Calchas what he should do to appease Artemis and Calchas said that he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia.
I think the dread and tension in mother! gets much more intense than in this movie, until it bubbles over the edge. In this movie it stays simmering in the pot the whole time.
ALEXANDRA CHRISTAKIDOU Yep!)) nobody seem to notice that when the father goes to school to ask, I am assuming, a principal about the children ("which one is better?" question), the principal mentions that the daughter wrote a paper on The Tragedy of Iphigenia...and got an A...
Proud of Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan,fantastic Irish actors.
Niall Hassett
I find them great actors too. But what has this to do with their origin (Irish)? There are great actors from all over the world. And why are you proud of someone's else achievements? Or did you train them?
Absolutely. Wonderful to see them making films of this quality.
The director is Greek.
a film set in America with a Greek director 2 Irish actors, an English actress, and Australian actress… In fact on the little boy was born in the USA 🤔
Yaaas
Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the few directors that know how to use Colin Farrell. In most of his movies, he feels out of place.
I went into this cold, it crept up on me, and surprised me. Enjoyed it.
LSJ Shez u ain't seen In Bruges mate?
Of course I have.
yeah, totally not for daredevil :D
I always liked him in Minority Report
i got the chills about the similarity of his 'in bruges character' and what he ended up doing here. the sister is so pretty. she looks like sophie turner from GoT.
There so many scenes and shots were stunningly Kubrick-esque
Noticed that, too. Long tracking hallway shots, wide angle lenses, single point framing, tiny subjects center frame amongst enormous clinical white often brutalist set design, subtle surrealism, and an oddly wicked sense of humor.
i'm not sure, but you might like 'stoker'
no, park chan-wook. nichole kidman was in 'stoker' too.
Well spotted!
If doctor sleep had the atmosphere and cinematography of this film it would’ve actually been good
"Like Saw for the arthouse audience"....that was brilliant!
saw this on Saturday, never felt so uncomfortable watching a film, brilliant acting by all, couldn't get the ending out of my head, just like Mark says, it stays with you for days, not for everyone, powerful stuff
Really "Our daughter just got a period" , "Can you show me your armpit hair" very powerful stuff lol
the presented scene was very eyes wide shut
Kubrick is all over this movie. A lot of the camera movements and the music remind me of The Shining, which is also about a father becoming a danger to his family. A lot of the hospital scenes reminded me of the Exorcist too.
Lanthimos is one of my favorite/favourite filmmakers working right now - can't wait to see The Killing Of A Sacred Deer - hope it lives up to my high expectations.
Loved Dogtooth, loved The Lobster, will most likely love this one too.
Baron von Penguin my favorite of his. Can't wait for his next film!
Nautilus1972 A movie about turning romantically uninvolved people into animals was ridiculous? You don't say?
A very clever and unusual film, and as Mark alludes, is rather unsettling to say the least. Worth a watch.
James Smith yes I found it profound . Exceptional
one watch for me. i can re-watch valhalla rising though countless times.
Wow what a great review. Watched this tonight and wish I could explain it this well.
Sold. Wonderfully explained.
Fantastic review, Mark. I couldn't agree more.
Great review, great movie. Thank you! One of my Top 5 last year.
Reminded me on 13 Tzameti and the original Martyrs, but these were much more brutal and gory.
fantastic movie, with an incredible last act. Loved the editing in that last part of the movie, specially a scene where searching is involved, and the riveting ending sequence. Amazing performances, specially happy for Colin Farrell who is really chosing great roles, like the upcoming McQueen movie. Also, Barry looks like a young and darker Joel Edgerton, and he delivers a great performance.
So to sum it up its a film about a strange individual weaving their way into a families life and tearing it apart.
lol i love the movie but that was funny
THX11003 In what way? That's not the correct term at all
yes it reminded me of teorema or visitor q in that respect.
It's about a boy seeking justice for his dead father
Farrell's cardiologist character wasn't that strange. He was just under the influence of alcohol when he made his criminal mistakes.
Heard very polarised things about this, interested to see it, especially since I loved The Lobster.
This was filmed in Cincinnati, my home town. Makes it even more entertaining.
I have to say I think this was my favorite film of 2018. There are so many reasons why this film worked but for anyone who appreciated this masterpiece, I think it came down to how unsettling the viewer felt, that, in and of itself is a humongous achievement to capture on film.
This review makes me even more excited. Sounds like something I will enjoy. Loved Dogtooth and the Lobster.
I've just seen it; it's awful.
I think if you thought highly of those two films, you will mostly likely enjoy this too. One of the most disturbing films I've seen, and weirdly surreal
I wouldn't listen to Derek. If you enjoyed Dogtooth and the Lobster you'll certainly get something from this. It's much darker though, I felt unsettled throughout the entire movie but was amazed that a film could do that to me. It's very intense.
Thanks for your recommendation. Sounds great, like powerful stuff. I like unsettling disturbing subjects that creep under your skin. Sometimes it can be tough, though.
It is a little mean in the vein of Funny Games but it is not disturbing.
Only just found this film ! Can’t believe it but absolutely amazing !
What a review Mark, brilliant. Watched it yesterday and it had me confused to the point where it didn't work for me, because every single person was weird, it would've been more powerful if they singled out the kid's weirdness who was awesome btw, there was a scene with CF and his daughter having a short conversation in the living room and it was so robotic, as if they weren't listening to each other but instead just reading out their lines, scenes usually found in bad movies with bad actors. It could've been much better but I still think it's worth checking out.
Charlie, yes absolutely.
Saw this the other day. Both my friend and I couldn't look by the end (I think the score in particular hugely contributed to this). I would say that I think the performances worked best when they tilted /slightly/ more towards naturalism, especially Colin Farrell's, but the completely alien and wrong feeling of the movie's world definitely worked in its favour
Can absolutely not wait for this movie!
Excellent review of a disturbing film (so was 'The Lobster' ). This came across to me as 'Raw' lite. 'Raw' prepared me for scenes in "The Killing...". I had a very difficult time with 'Raw'. This wasn't easy but easier. I appreciate Lanthimos' sense of humor which is deeply buried in this work. I'm glad I saw it.
Surprised Mark didn't point out the Groundhog's Day dialogue in the film which totally alludes to the plot.
The scene where they're watching Groundhog's Day and Bill Murray is trying to convince Andie Macdowell that he's a God.
A movie that tries to say something but ends up saying absolutely nothing. Absurdity and ambiguity is not enough to make a good movie. No development, boring characters, mind-numbing dialogue. Its only saving grace is the photography, great shots i have to admit.
Brilliant review
Watched dogtooth a long time ago and Lobster both good films. So then this, it has some deadpan acting that suits the tone of the movie (was pre warned) so I was expecting to be disturbed. Was not. Just felt it had some interesting use of sound and camera positioning. Had some imagery that warranted viewing. Mark brings up the exorcist which I guess is what influences his judgement here as well. Maybe it’s a generational thing (nearing their 40s) because I remember people my age watching exorcist weren’t as impacted by it on re-release. Horror never ages well but certain scenes do. The case here too.
The film’s well acted, well characterised, well directed, thrilling, stylish & is A very original thriller film. (83%) (4/5 stars) (positive)
It’s an odd film but I really like that you can see it exactly for what is shown to you. Or can dig deeper and find potential biblical metaphors. Strange yet layered
Had to stop halfway through this review just on the off chance that something is spoiled. Really looking forward to this one.
great film, loved it. big fan of this director since Lobster
Good review!
I was just booking a ticket to watch this film tomorrow while listening to this review. It sounds very interesting.
I also got a strong Hamlet feel, especially after Martin talks about eating his spaghetti exactly the same, exactly the same, exactly the same as everyone else.
I also saw it as a meta joke by Lanthomos on how many movies portray some sort of “unique” connection between characters that seems forced or not really unique at all
I really want to watch this but it was not shown in the Philippines. huhu. Can you help me wach it online by sharing a link?
Mark made reference to all of my favourite horror movies - Psycho, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Shining and We need to talk about Kevin.
It's brilliant, go and see it.
Good review.
Just came back from the cinema, what an amazing film. I couldn't handle the sense of detachment the film portrayed, made the final 10 minutes more messed up.
What a provocative, trippy movie. I was always engaged and curious about what would happen next. 00:14 I missed the "black comedy" element that a few reviewers have mentioned. 🤔(Yes, I'm an idiot)
Is there a reason why everyone has Aspergers in this film? I understand The Lobster took place in a bizzare alternative future where everyone is weird. But why here?
That’s just Yorgos man
That's what I thought about all the characters.
Eloquently said 🙏🏻🥰
Just watched it - reminded me so much of Kubrick's 'The Shining.' Gloriously creepy! Distressingly funny!
This film was so haunting, I still think about it 2 years after watching it. I have made a music video using clips from this movie, pls checc it out here if u have time. Thanks guys
This is perhaps the only film I've seen that felt genuinely Kubrickian at times (other than Kubrick films obviously). Can't say I liked it but it has a certain magnetic power. I didn't personally find any humour in the film, black or otherwise. I'm not entirely sure what the point of the film was other than to make you feel deeply uneasy.
Colin Farrell's voice in this film just reminded me of Dougal in Father Ted 😅
Ah come on
Great film all around
This film is does not have any humour and nor is it a black comedy, it is a dark powerful disturbing psychological film about loss, human error, inability to be accountable and the cost of that. It is a film about psychological paralysis and how life changing that it ...despite the cause . What is shown is how one family who are materially successful deal with this . They have what appears to be the perfect life living in a chocolate box stunning home but the family is dark. Martin befriends this family and we witness how their life changes because he has supernatural powers and wants to exercise payback but it's the way it's done. In order to grasp and appreciate this film on many levels it needs to be watched several times at least. At least.
thought it was brilliant! echoes of "the shining", "let the right one in" et al. one of my measures of a good film is as follows...if the film makes you want to do that thing (rocky), know that person (ewan), or learn more about the filmmaker (this) then it's a success. question- are all Scandinavian films brilliant?
yes 100% correct joe. my bad!
I was riveted from beginning to end. Spoiler alert ....I do think that the mother (NK) should’ve offered herself up and the conversation she initiated about being able to have more children made me as the viewer wish for her to be CF’s choice. How could a mother even go there. Assuming CF wasn’t an option (will have to watch again), I thought he was going to choose her rather than do Russian roulette. Most interesting and challenging film I’ve seen in a long time, much better than Mother! Although I did enjoy that too, but you have to know the allegoretical premise for it to make any sense at all. Will be checking out The Lobster next.
Barry Keoghan is the new "literally me" actor
I’d love if lanthimos directed a Kafka on the Shore adaptation
I wonder if Mark has seen the trailer that is showing in cinemas currently for this film. Judging by his review the film is badly represented by it. My impression of the film from the trailer was that it was a soppy "Young Adult" romance with some horror inspired themes but carefully steered to not frighten the horses & just leaving out the inevitable life-affirming ending of the film itself. Going by this review on the other hand TKOASD looks far more interesting & I may well go & see it.
Looking down the wrong end of a stethescope with a wide angle lens. 'It's all psychological." Nuff said. 🤪
That end scene - murder-suicides, have never been so much fun? I guess with him missing his first two shots, he probably decided he didn't have enough bullets anymore and that with his son now fatally wounded, the curse would be effectively lifted and what was left of the family could give life another go. After all, those that weren't shot had been fully compliant in most of the finale. They just had the son's murder to cover up. Brutal, dark black comedy at it's finest, the way he spun himself dizzy with the rifle playing a quasi- Russian roulette game with the others. And it was only make-believe.
I loved this movie.
Just watched this movie it was excellent.
I get what the film is going for. I appreciate it even. But I don't like this film for being too ambiguous with no powerful payoff in the end. It's like the film Safe.
"Not quite sure whether to laugh or recoil"... I didn't laugh at a single thing in this movie. I can't think of anything further from comedy. Very good movie though!
Artemis !
Masterpiece 10/10. Lanthimos will become the new Stanley Kubric. The cinematography too is amazing, reminds me a lot of Gordon Willis with his use of low light and John Alcott when using the camera from afar. Bravo 10/10.
Very carefully made, very detailed. Everything is there for a reason - the speech, the dialogues.. its like a piano piece. I cant remember the last time a movie respected its audience.
Not for the mainstream audience.
I kind of wished it was a straight up horror in the real world without all the character speaking and acting so strange as the premise itself is so great, I could picture Roman Polanski making a much better movie from the premise just by building up the tension and denial of the curse, whether or not it’s really psychological or something supernatural. Barry Keoghans performance is brilliant and terrifying but everything else feels too bizarre that it’s a bit off putting. It oddly reminded me of the Ricky Gervais movie invention of lying as everyone seemed to speak in a way that was so open and clinical that lying seemed to be none existent in this world, everyone is so devoid of emotion that the horrific ending doesn’t have the impact it could have done if there was more emotion shown. I watched this yesterday and is still fresh in my head but I can say that unfortunately it’s just not something I would revisit again but I feel the premise itself is so great it could’ve been a great movie if in the helms of someone like a Robert Eggers or Ari Aster. I like Yorgos and I think something like The Lobster is his best work.
I was impressed by how easily the director inserted humor into the drama, and unsettled by how easily I laughed along - very disturbing film
This director is marmite. And I love the stuff!
Just watched this. Wow !
me too, absolutely magnificent.
Is it very riveting movie??? How can i Watch?
Hmmmm. Didn't check the poison database once? Didn't research anything? Didn't torture the little maggot with surgical techniques? Just watched his family die? And as if you would ever choose to kill one of your own loved ones. And not yourself? Oh and figuring out which child is " better" . Define better. There's no comedy here.
Thank you for pointing out these flaws that everyone else refuses to see!Like there was a hint of what may happen if he does the most obvious thing ever,but I never thought it would turn out that he actually chooses one of them, like really?! You didn't even try thinking outside the box, you just followed what some retarted dumbass told you to do?Out of so many ways to twist the plot, leave the audience shocked, he had chosen the cheapest way, and yes I was shocked with this ambiguous wanna be biblically metaphorical movie ending.Waste of my time.
The movie is bad ok, but it was all a daydream, a murder fantasy so anything goes in that regard.
love love Nicole Kidman.
how did steve get away with murdering his child tho
Review.... Academy award foreign language category of 2018
Awesome review
Class differences exist in this film. Slave master class and slave class. Slave master Medical Doctors are eugenicists. Film maker masks this eugenics role by implying the lower class boy is engaged in some sophisticated science. When in reality slave master professionals are making slaves sick in the manner described in the story. Role reversal is key to understanding this story.
This film made me feel really horrible and unsettled, which is why I loved it! It gave me a similar feeling as Antichrist did in places
best movie of the year
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Can someone explain to me, what seemed to be a plot hole. Did Collin Farrell get away with the murder? If so how? Or does the final scene take place before they make any announcement to the police about the death?
Yes I was wondering the same. I think he probably buried him in the garden.. what he said he'd do with Martin when he was in basement 🤷♀️
From the same director that did "The Lobster", comes "The Killing of a Sacred Deer". Have you seen it yet? If not, check out the trailer in the Description box and then my review to see if it's worth your time.
ua-cam.com/video/Z7yDyxcvb4k/v-deo.html
My only really issue with it is that every character's dialogue feels really stilted and unnatural. I think that's partly intentional but that doesn't really make it good
GiantSandles well it is a doctor's family, with a cast of doctors and physicians, then the weird mother & child so I think it works, there are no average joes in this movie
it's definitely intentional. In Lobster that was even more apparent, Collin Farrel delivered his lines in the same deadpan way here. I think you get certain disturbing vibe from this and it creates own world where emotions and empathy doesn't exists.
GiantSandles it’s intentional, and evident from the very first scene. The perfect way to make a surreal, unnatural atmosphere is to use language in a way we are not accustomed to. It worked for me.
@@CHAOSGOLM it's the case in all of his movies
Dam I got this wrong I thought it was about hunting😣
Deadpan I said
watched this in a trilogy with mother! funny games and straw dogs , now i need some professional help
The direction and delivery of the dialogue really took me out of this film. I couldn't not think of them as real people. I was acutely aware I wasn't watching a narrative with characters, I was watching actors delivering dialogue with a director sat behind the camera. During any given scene, I'd sometimes wonder how many takes an actor had been asked to repeat before Lanthimos was satisfied with the correct level of inhuman austerity. They weren't human and I could not suspend my disbelief because the director had bent this narrative around himself and his now house-style of bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. For me, the director was the most present character of this film, because his character, his opinions and his feelings were the one's that shone through strongest through the film's characters that felt just like his puppets. Partway through the film, I started wondering if that was the point; whether the actors had been instructed to deliver dialogue in such a way as to draw attention to the fact that none of this was real, to remind the audience that they were watching a film with actors and perhaps this was a work of metafiction? Then I started trying to consider, if this was metafiction, and if it was trying to get the audience to realise that this was not real, what was the point of the narrative and how did it fit into that purpose? But maybe I was wrong, maybe there was no rationale behind the stylistic choices of the director. So why, then, were the characters behaving such a way? What was it about these people, or this world that made them all act in a jarring, robotic manner? If it was about fate and revenge, then why were the characters behaving in this way? *It felt like a film made for film students to analyse the way that camera angles, direction and a score can build tension without any actual hard narrative occurrences that would otherwise be a trigger of tension.*
Not to be that guy, but you’re not watching movies the right way
@@frankmerker630 the fact that you think there is one certain right way to watch movies tells us you got no clue what this movie was about. He elaborated his opinion above, and yes, you with that silly sentence of yours, completely changed his mindset and the way he interprets movies. Jesus
Totally agree thought this movie was soo boring. Good performances make you feel like ur in the films world. This seems the complete opposite. For me there is no sense of dread or detachment (if that is the reason behind the weird dialogue monotone) move went on for too long. I think this coulda been a great film if they changed the way the family behaved towards each other
I agree
I understand the reason for the direction re the monotone wooden delivery of dialogue and I could tell it was a choice
But equally it was something that really took me out of it and an aspect I hated about it
Especially early on it felt very odd
I went to see this at the Curzon in London and walked out because everyone speaks the same and is written as if they were the same two dimensional bizarrely frank character. Such atrocious writing that I couldn’t tolerate it after a while.
It's all a matter of IQ m8. Go watch inception or something. I'm sure you'll feel better..
it was intended to make you feel uncomfortable. the couple was unusually tolerant of that strange boy's strange behavior before the plot revealed how their lives would be changed by him. i guess being doctors, they had remain polite when confronted by freakheads. it was mega f'd colin farrell accommodated showing his body hair to the kid. you know i almost didn't recognize colin farrell at all. i'm not sure if they changed everything about his physical appearance for this role.
Wasted my time with this movie. On initial viewing, I got no sense of anything ambiguous going on. Like obviously Martin caused these things otherwise how does he predict the future? I can see how it might’ve been fate righting the fathers wrongs. But I can’t buy an intimate relationship between Martin and fate. Apparently it was established that sacrificing one child would save the other. Yet this was established no where besides the title. Lastly, I can see the parallels to an age old story of revenge. But historically revenge leads to more revenge. I would’ve liked to see some of that tbh.
Martin tells Steven that if he sacrifices one of his family members he can save the other two. I thought that was very clear no??
Not another Exorcist reference!
Just watched this movie tonight and it was annoyingly stilted, deadpan, pretentious and hollow. Great premise and good cinematography but I can't say much else positive about it.
Thank God - thought I'd never find a negative comment! Agree 100%
I really don’t think I can stand the style that Lanthimos brings to his films. I’ve only seen The Lobster and The Killling of a Sacred Deer, and while I preferred The Killing of a Sacred Deer, the stilted dialogue and acting just didn’t work for me. In The Lobster it felt like it had a purpose, to put on display how unnatural being forced into a relationship would feel and worked to drive home the point of the film. In this though, it felt like he was trying to be edgy and hipster for the sake of it, and until the second half of the film it didn’t ever feel like it was being used to generate any effect other than ‘discomfort’. I can definitely say that the tone and plot of the second half worked perfectly with the style, and I really don’t have any problems with that part of the film, but the first hour would have been unwatchable for me if there wasn’t so much exceptional craft on display
Such a great film.
I have no clue where in this movie he sees a funny dark comedy.
It more absurd than "funny", but my partner and I were definitely laughing at how insane the film went at a certain point.
It's the way the movie is written, and delivered that just grates on me.
It may be someone else,s taste but to me it is clinical minimal and two dimensional. Not a fan at all. The movie concept interesting though.
The characters are like androids.
Why does everyone talk so weird?
I get it was a choice by the director but why?
Just to be off-putting?
Period talk, hair and ejaculation talk. I didn't get it.
Annoying film. All the pieces are great but it doesnt add up to anything of substance. As a meditation on fate it was incomplete and didn't reslly say anything or even evoke the nihilism or futility it thought it was evoking. As a black comedy to begin it worked well but as it transitions to thriller mode it utterly lacks any sense of dread at all for me. The motivating forces didnt seem clear enough and the stylisation meant that verfremsdungst effekt was placed front and centre but there was no actual statement being made. 2/5
I think that might be its intention. To leave you feeling like nothing has been said. In that sense it's really good. It doesn't want to be understood. It wants to annoy you.
Spoiler questioon
So was Martin possessed by demonic greek mythology to give him power over the family's fate?
Truly a disturbing and interesting movie
I realize what the director was going for but this movie just wasn't that great even once you realize what all the symbols really mean. Mother! is similarly ambiguous like this movie is but is a much better film altogether.
Mother! is horrendous.
Is Martin a god figure ?
That is what l'm wondering, how did he have the power to make the children sick
I don’t think it’s meant to be taken that literally
I liked the movie, I definately recommend it!
Good story line great actors just not the best acting. Was disappointed
quadrillogy