The Lobster was my favorite movie last year. Such a weird tone, and so unlike anything else out there. Now to hear that Yorgos Lanthimos was applying that to a psychological thriller? Yes please!!
Colin Farrell reteams with Yorgos as a doctor and family man, married to Nicole Kidman with two kids at home. He has a strange friendship with a boy his daughter's age (an incredible Barry Keoghan), that soon turns to disturbing territory. The boy has a hold over him that could potentially cost him everything. Cryptic, I know, but I'm trying to explain without spoiling the details.
This movie was so unsettling, exactly what I was hoping for! Yes, the Yorgos tone absolutely had a lot to do with it. But the other person responsible was Keoghan. As I described him on Stardust, he falls somewhere between Norman Bates and We Need to Talk About Kevin. I was srsly impressed and thoroughly creeped out by him, and he is the reason to watch this movie.
I will say that my one gripe is that the movie did seem to drag as it transitioned towards the end of the second act or so. The story was drawn out without really adding too much, and I feel as though it could have been a lot cleaner. Still, the rest of it was great enough that it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. It just didn't quite live up to the promise of The Lobster. Which is fine, because what other movie could ever possibly match up?
The Killing of a Sacred Deer – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n