This will be my first of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. If you would like to keep up with our content, click here.
Synopsis: Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon presiding over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife Anna and their two exemplary children, 12-year-old Bob and 14-year-old Kim. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who Steven has covertly taken under his wing. As Martin begins insinuating himself into the family’s life in ever-more unsettling displays, the full scope of his intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten transgression that will shatter the Murphy family’s domestic bliss. (a24)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan
Writers: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Rating: n/a (Canada)/R (United States)
Running Time: 109mins
Trailer:
From the writer of the incredibly weird The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos, comes the equally weird The Killing of a Sacred Deer. While the former seemed gratuitously weird with no real story, this new film also has some of that trademark strangeness but with an actual story this time around.
The story was suspenseful and compelling to watch thanks to the lead performances by Farrell as Dr. Murphy, Kidman as his wife Anna, and Keoghan as Martin. Farrell and Kidman were there usual selves here with their great chemistry making them a believable couple but it is Keoghan who stood out above both experienced actors, standing on his own and stealing scenes. Over the course of the film, he manages to go from charming to downright sinister with relative ease.
Overall, this was an excellent thriller with all the weirdness you’d expect from Lanthimos but with a compelling story and great performances to nicely tie it all together.
Score: 9.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.