The Killing of a Sacred Deer/List of 10 directors retelling Greek Myths
The Killing of a Sacred Deer(2017)
Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Alice Silverstone, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic
Length: 121 min
Country: Ireland, United Kingdom
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a masterpiece that I can't recommend to anyone. Upon leaving the cinema, a member of the audience left a review on a bulletin-board outside the screening room that summed up perfectly the feeling I have when I recommend this movie to my friends and acquaintances.
The message was: "My friend made me watch this. We are not talking anymore."
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, as surreal and idiosyncratic as always, came back after his loveless love story The Lobster (2015) with a cynical, clinically precise and horrific retelling of Euripides’ ancient drama, ‘Iphigenia in Aulis’.
Do not worry! No deer were actually harmed (or even mentioned) in the making of this film. In the same way, no lobsters were present in his previous creation (nor dogs in Dogtooth). I highly advise not to search for the plot of Iphigenia's myth in case you are not familiar with it. The less you know about this tale, the more it will be psychologically unsettling.
Lanthimos's version is set in modern-day Cincinnati, instead of Mycenean Greece during the Trojan war. King Agamemnon is instead a heart surgeon played by a cold (and ever so hairy) Colin Farrell. He seems to have a friendly rapport with a young teenager, played by an incredibly creepy Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk). The nature of the relationship is a mystery to us. Is it a friendship? Is he his lover? We only perceive that there is something ominous going on there. There is a persistent looming feeling that something terrible will happen.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer smells like a hospital. The stench of TCP wafts down long white corridors. It's saturated with this heavy atmosphere, where death and suffering are just mundane events. On top of that, there is this disconcerting uncanniness. It doesn't feel like our world. Characters speak in such an austere, cold and detached way that it feels as if they were reading out loud the Greek myth in a classroom and not to a fellow human being (sharing the same stylistic choice as The Lobster). There is no love in Farrell's voice when he talks to his patients, colleagues or even his children. This lovelessness is even more over the top during the moments of "intimacy" with his wife, played by an icy Nicole Kidman, when she pretends to be under total anaesthesia during sexual intercourses.
Nicole Kidman is fantastic as a laconic wife and mother. It reminded me of her splendid performance in Lars Von Trie's minimalistic arthouse film Dogville (2004). Notwithstanding, the biggest surprise is the extremely young Barry Keoghan, as he plays one of the most unnerving and eerie characters in recent memory.
It's clear that the cast is under the direction of a meticulously precise visionary, whose fluid camera shots are reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's genius and whose cynical and dry script owes a huge debt to Michael Haneke's misanthropic vision.
In some ways, it shares some similarities with last year divisive Darren Aronofsky's Mother!. Both films are a modern and almost avant-garde adaptation of ancient mythology (Christian biblical mythology on Aronofsky's side), both films share the same sardonic view on the corruption in our world and both films have a violent and pessimistic climax. Whereas Mother! is a bit rougher around the edges, claustrophobic and confusing, The Killing of a Sacred Deer feels like we are witnessing a surgeon operating with a firm hand on open heart. Both films feel like we have been suffering from a series of mental illnesses for two hours straight.
If you are a visually sensitive person or find Lanthimos style too sterile, this might not be the right film for you. However, if you are a fan, you might share my excitement knowing that he is coming back with a surreal period piece set in the 18th century called The Favourite. The cast includes one of my personal favourite comedic British talents, Olivia Colman; The Lobster's elegant muse, Rachel Weisz; and a surprise turn for recent Oscar Winner, Emma Stone.
One thing is for sure, by the end of his career, Lanthimos will have an incredibly diverse and unique filmography which would put him up there with the greats.
Funny Games (1997) by Michael Haneke
Eyes Wide Shut (2000) by Stanley Kubrick
The Lobster (2015) by Yorgos Lanthimos
Mother! (2017) by Darren Aronofsky
Mother! (2017) by Darren Aronofsky
Niche List of the week
10 arthouse directors retelling Greek Mythology
When I decided to put together this list, I hardly expected to find any film. On the contrary, I struggled to narrow it down to only 10 movies, which was surprising indeed. It seems like Greek myths and legends have always been an incredible source of inspiration for many artists and filmmakers over the years. What was even more surprising it was finding such a wide range of style and interpretations. I tried to avoid any faithful adaptation of these myths or any commercial blockbuster, focusing more on "auteurs" and visionaries. The myth of Orpheus retold in a surreal and poetic France in the 50's, or in a colourful Carnival in Rio De Janiero. "Pygmalion" in Victorian London, "Antigone" in a dystopian future Italy, "Oedipus" in the 60's underground gay scene in Tokyo, or "Odysseus" in American South during the Great Depression. There is something timeless and universal about these ancient tales, something that will always provoke, inspire and amaze us no matter what century we are living in.
(Ordered by year)
When I decided to put together this list, I hardly expected to find any film. On the contrary, I struggled to narrow it down to only 10 movies, which was surprising indeed. It seems like Greek myths and legends have always been an incredible source of inspiration for many artists and filmmakers over the years. What was even more surprising it was finding such a wide range of style and interpretations. I tried to avoid any faithful adaptation of these myths or any commercial blockbuster, focusing more on "auteurs" and visionaries. The myth of Orpheus retold in a surreal and poetic France in the 50's, or in a colourful Carnival in Rio De Janiero. "Pygmalion" in Victorian London, "Antigone" in a dystopian future Italy, "Oedipus" in the 60's underground gay scene in Tokyo, or "Odysseus" in American South during the Great Depression. There is something timeless and universal about these ancient tales, something that will always provoke, inspire and amaze us no matter what century we are living in.
(Ordered by year)
- Orpheus (1950) by Jean Cocteau
By many considered one of the most poetic films of all time, Cocteau's adaptation of Orpheus and Eurydice and brings it to a Café des Poètes in Paris in the aftermath of WWII. Orpheus (Jean Marais) is a poet who will follow a mysterious Princess (Who is in fact Death) in the underworld. Sadly films are rarely made for purely artistic reasons anymore. A movie like this would be unthinkable today. Filled with dreamlike images and rich in symbolism, this unique piece of art-work is incomparable to any other film and a must-see if you consider yourself a film aficionado.
- Black Orpheus (1959) by Marcel Camus
Winner of the Oscar as Best Foreign Film in 1960, as well as, the Palm d'Or, this retelling of the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is set in a colourful and vibrant Brazil during the Carnival in Rio accompanied by energetic samba and bossa nova music. Probably the best way to study Greek Mythology is by watching Camus's impeccable triumph.
- Phaedra (1962) by Jules Dassin
Following the success of Never on a Sunday (1960), Greek director Dassin collaborate for the fourth time with his wife, Melina Mercouri, in this adaptation of Euripides's play. Set in modern-day Greece, we follow the misfortunes of Phaedra, the bored wife of a wealthy shipowner. She will fall in love her husband's son, played by Anthony Perkins (Psycho). This movie really feels like a tragedy. It's maybe too melodramatic in parts, but the music composed by Mikis Theodorakis (Zorba the Greek) is transcendent.
- My Fair Lady (1964) by George Cukor
You wouldn't except that this musical from the Golden Age set in Victorian London would have anything to do with Greek Mythology. On the contrary, My Fair Lady is based on 1913 George Bernard Shaw's stage play based on "Pygmalion" myth. Lavish sets, superb casting and wonderful songs have been awarded 8 Academy Awards (Including Best Picture). I personally found it quite long in its 3 hours length, but this satire on British class society will definitely please devotees of musicals and fans of Audrey Hepburn.
- Oedipus Rex (1967) by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pasolini's very faithful adaptation of Sophocles's Myth, connect the antiquity with modern time, by adding an almost autobiographical prologue to the story set in a pre-war Lombardia. Where an officer of Mussolini's militia, feels nothing but jealousy towards his new son. He will abandon him into the desert where we will suddenly move to ancient times. The child will grow up as Oedipus, the man who will unwittingly kill his father and marry his mother. Homosexual and provocateur, Pasolini identified himself with Orpheus character, who in the film is played by his muse Franco Citti (who never stop shouting), whereas Silvana Mangano plays both the officer's wife and Queen Jocasta.
- Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) by Toshio Matsumoto
Apparently, Toshio Matsumoto's inspiration for this avant-garde film set in the underground gay counterculture scene in Japan was in the pages of Sophocles's "Oedipus". Honestly, I didn't see any correlation between the film and the myth. However, it's a massively influential film for the Japanese New Wave, for Queer Cinema, as well as, for directors of the calibre of Kubrick, who took inspiration for his Clockwork Orange. To think that this, partly documentary, partly experimental film, about Tokyo drag scene, was made in the 60's in Japan is unbelievable.
- The Year of the Cannibals (1970) by Lilian Cavani
Liliana Cavani (Just before she shocked the world with her "The Night Porter"), made a remarkable, as well as, extremely tedious adaptation of Sophocles' "Antigone". It is very much a product of its time, set in dystopian Milan where corpses are left lying in the street in order to send a message to the masses. Strickly correlated with the political climate of the time in Italy, where street violence and political terrorism were ordinary events.
The soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone is exceptional as always.
- Medea (1988) by Lars Von Trier
Every admirer of Von Trier's work should watch this unknown early film he made during his Pre-Dogma phase. Adapted for Danish TV from the script that the legendary Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (that he never produced in his lifetime), Von Trier's put the suffering of a woman at the centre of his work (as always). Medea, abandoned by her husband Jason, plots a plan of revenge which will bring suffering to all. Completely shot using analogue video, Medea is an almost experimental film which proves the talent of the Danish director who will conceive masterpieces as Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves.
- Mighty Aphrodites (1995) by Woody Allen
This light and delightful "commedia dell'arte" is based on "Pygmalion"'s Myth. The film opens with a Greek chorus in the middle of the ruins of a Greek theatre, who narrates the story of Lenny, a sports writer in Mannathan (Woody Allen). Lenny and his wife Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter) decide to adopt a baby. Moved by insatiable curiosity, Lenny will try to find the biological mother of his incredibly gifted child. He will find out that she is a prostitute named Linda (Mira Sorvino). Mira Sorvino won the Oscar as Best Actress in a Supporting Role (before Harvey Weinstein destroyed her promising career), for playing one of Allen's funniest characters.
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) by Ethan and Joel Coen
Ethan and Joel Coen took Homer's myth and brought it to the American South during the Great Depression. Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is a convict who will go through an actual "Odyssey" across the rural Mississippi, to find his ex-wife Penny (Holly Hunter). Polyphemus (John Goodman)is a one-eyed man who masquerades as a Bible salesman. Poseidon is a ruthless sheriff. Tiresias is a blind railroad man. Its autumnal colours and sepia look (the First film using digital colour correction), as well as, it's use of folk music, made this film one of the finest and most inventive Coen's creations.
Honorable mentions Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Electra (1962), Narcissus (1983), Oedipus Rex (1957), Passion a Dream of Passion (1978), Oh Woe Is Me (1993), Mannequin (1987), Butcher Baker, Nightmare Maker (1982)
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