I barely know where to start with this one. If you’ve seen any of Yorgos Lanthimos’ work, or better yet, if you heard the mad rantings of anyone who did, then you know he’s a bit crazy bananas. Watching his movies is like taking a bone saw to his cranium, lifting off the top flap, and peering inside at all the nuttiest ideas that the rest of us tamp down in the interest of social order but for some reason, Lanthimos gives them a confident voice. It’s scary but completely enthralling.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is about a man who will be forced to make a really tough 
choice. Steven (Colin Ferrell) is a surgeon with a devoted wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), two talented children, and the devotion of a teenager of an ex-patient (Barry Keoghan). But you know that everything’s about to unravel. Maybe Steven isn’t such a great surgeon. And maybe his family are all a little more self-interested than we thought. And maybe Martin, the teenager, is hiding something sinister.
Colin Ferrell embraces the stylized (read: stilted and simple) dialogue, and at times Keoghan does as well, but the rest are not as committed. Not that I’m complaining. Robot-like delivery can get tiresome. It’s crazy how much Lanthimos can divorce human emotion from our worst, darkest impulses.
But that’s the thing, this is why his movies are fun and exciting to watch: they’re twisted and dark and make us think terrible, terrible things. But they’re really just hypotheticals. Steven never feels like a real person. He’s stiff and icy and even though you can’t wait to see how he plays this thing out, his choice ultimately feels without consequence. He doesn’t feel so we don’t feel. The Killing of a Sacred Deer just doesn’t exist in our world. So while I will always watch these movies for the sheer mental exercise, I can never quite love them.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
I was compelled by this throughout and like you “enjoyed” it as an odd cerebral thriller. Barry Keoghan was incredible; such a tragic, twisted and morbid character performance.
LikeLike
Nicely put. I guess if Lanthimos did make films which are of this world, they would never have been so mentally-stimulating and thought-provoking. But then, yeah, even though Steven is like a victim in this film, it is still a bit hard to sympathise with him and his family.
LikeLike
I enjoyed this one a lot, but I agree, it didn’t feel real. I thought Barry Keoghan was wonderful in it though. Creepily wonderful.
LikeLike
Sounds intriguing, I’ll try to find it.
LikeLike
His movies are cold, right, but I think there’s a place for films like these. I’ve seen two others and they meant a lot to me…
P. S. Farrell, not Ferrell, Jay 🙂 Or was that intentional?
LikeLike
Christ, this was dark stuff but I found it so compelling. It’s the most demented thing I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve got it scheduled on my blog for next week!
LikeLike
Oh great? Tubularsock was looking for a solid Christmas sick-o-comedy to watch and with such a clear over the edge film like this sounds so, well merry.
LikeLike
That sounds somewhat interesting, but the singing in the trailer annoyed the heck out of me. Is there a lot of it during the actual movie?
LikeLike
I liked this movie but I did find a deeply disturbing.
LikeLike
Hypothetical is the perfect way to describe his movies. The Lobster really got me. I can’t wait to see this too
LikeLike
It sounds really interesting–I haven’t seen it in theatres around here, but maybe it will show up in the New Year.
LikeLike
I do want to see this. My theater had it for a short time and I missed it.
LikeLike
Nice…
LikeLike
sounds a lot like how i felt about The Lobster! But a shift in the plot mid-way really helped me re-engage with it after the deadpan insanity started to tire. Wonder if this one will sit as well with me!
LikeLike
This one would require my undivided attention, by the sounds of it. I’m not always one for dark movies though…
LikeLike
I’m not sure if I like divorcing emotions from stories. But that’s a personal thing.
LikeLike