7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A teenager's attempts to bring a brilliant surgeon into his dysfunctional family takes an unexpected turn.
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny SuljicDrama | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 60% |
Dark humor | 41% |
Surreal | 39% |
Horror | 28% |
Mystery | 24% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: Certain plot points which some may consider spoilers are well nigh impossible to avoid when discussing The Killing of a Sacred
Deer. Those wary of such revelations are encouraged to skip down to the technical portions of the review, below.
Wow.
That may be about the only proper reaction to The Killing of a Sacred Deer whether you love the film or detest it. This latest film from co-
writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos reunites him with his The
Lobster star Colin Farrell in another patently bizarre tale that almost willfully defies description, or at least genre typing. If, as I
mentioned in my The Lobster Blu-ray review, that film
almost inevitably engendered a kind of “WTF” response in its tale of an aging populace forced to transform into other creatures, The Killing of a
Sacred Deer is almost certain to provoke an even stronger reaction in its tale of what might have been called in the days of The Wolf Man “a gypsy curse”. That completely
weird plot point actually takes a while to be revealed, leaving several early interchanges between heart surgeon Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) and
a young teenage boy named Martin (Barry Keoghan) without any context to help the viewer, something that, along with some really peculiar
scoring choices, is seemingly intentionally designed to make people think there’s some kind of illicit relationship going on between the two. And in
fact there kind of is, though it isn’t of the sexual variety. But before Lanthimos gets around to detailing why exactly Martin and Steven even have
a relationship, there are other odd vignettes documenting Steven’s seemingly perfect home life, which includes wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), and
two
children, Bob (Sunny Suljic) and Kim (Raffey Cassidy). I'm starting to almost think of Kidman as a sort of poster child for characters
involved in some kind of kinky sex life, as evidenced first by Eyes
Wide Shut and then last year’s superb Big Little Lies
, for Anna’s foreplay with Steven is certainly going to raise a few eyebrows, at least among the more straightlaced in the audience.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While Lanthimos reunites with his The Lobster cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis, in this case the pair shot on film rather than digitally capturing the imagery. The result is a nicely thick looking presentation, one that doesn't really "pop" in any meaningful way aside from a few isolated outdoor moments, but which offers excellent saturation and consistent densities. A number of the hospital scenes are either graded or lit toward the blue end of the spectrum, with an attendant slight loss of fine detail. Lanthimos repeatedly utilizes extreme close-ups throughout the film (as can be seen in some the screenshots accompanying this review), something that helps to support fine detail levels even when lighting conditions aren't optimal. There are a few passing moments when the grain field attains a slightly yellowish quality (apart and aside from any opticals, which are few and far between in this film), but otherwise looks natural and resolves without any compression anomalies.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix isn't very "showy" in terms of over the top sonics, but it provides regular if often rather subtle immersion courtesy of both ambient environmental sounds as well as some really unusual score choices, especially in several of the scenes between Steven and Martin. This is a very dialogue heavy film, and that element is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation.
I see that I've cited a maybe insane variety of films in the review above, but I'm about to do it again: what ultimately happens in The Killing of a Sacred Deer may recall a certain decision that is at the core of Sophie's Choice. I think it's a testament to Lanthimos' sensibilities as both a writer and director that despite the patent unreality of the entire plot and even presentational style of the film, there's real emotional impact when Steven has to make a choice of his own. Technical merits are strong, but approach this film with extreme caution if you're easily shocked or disturbed. Recommended.
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