I sat down before viewing ‘Sacred Deer’ knowing what to expect but also very excited. I had heard good things about this film but I had also watched some of Yorgos Lanthimos’ films in previous times and did not enjoy them… But this was the delightful opposite.
When I watched ‘The Lobster’ I was slightly dis-pleased and actually turned off the film half-way through as I just could not connect with the story-line or characters what-so-ever. The way Lanthimos makes his characters appear as dead-pan is an interesting technique that personally worked for me in this genre. It made the entire experience more uneasy for me as all these characters almost had no emotion even though what was occurring around them was disturbing and terrifying.
The cinematography blew my breathe away. Some incredible shots from a birds-eye view perspective were extremely clever and really captured everything the audience needed to see in that certain shot, in an aesthetically pleasing way. The cinematography also added to the discomfort of the film, as many shots had just one major conflict occurring in the centre of frame with all of this space surrounding it.
I have to praise Barry Keoghan for his performance in this. I absolutely fell in love with his acting in this role, he just blew me away and nailed the disturbed character of Martin. The child-like voice he put on and his innocent features created this character to be someone easy to sympathise with, but also become angered by.
The discussion of sympathising and becoming angered by characters leads me to my next point… There is no good guy and bad guy in this film. [SPOILERS] Dr. Murphy is no-one to idolise. As audience members, we are so used to teaming up and cheering on our protagonist. But ‘Sacred Deer’ really flips this whole concept upside down. Dr. Murphy is a horrible person that did a horrible thing to Martins father. As cruel as Martin is and the things he puts this family through. His motivations are understandable, and at times I did find myself rooting for him and wanting him to receive his well-deserved justice. It is very rare to find yourself cheering on the antagonist, but during ‘Sacred Deer’ I was. That’s why I believe this film effected me as much as it did. All characters were not these amazing and glorious human beings… It reminded me a lot of ‘Drive’ (2011). In the fact that you find yourself cheering for Driver even though he is doing all of these horrible things.
Overall, this film was very impactful and has already joined the list of my favourite horrors. I strongly recommend checking this one out.
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