PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF GREECE

After reviewing The Lobster in the Semester One 2016 booklet, I am delighted that I get to take you once again through the bizarre minds of screenwriters Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou with The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

Where Lobster took aim at our cultural rituals of marriage and couplehood, Killing has the nuclear family in its absurdist sights. Colin Farrell returns to the Lanthimos fold as cardiologist Steven Murphy, who has formed a close relationship with teenager Martin (Keoghan). Murphy also seemingly has a typical family life, with wife Anna (Kidman) and two children.

However, this is where I stop the story disclosure, as the rest plays out in a way that needs to be experienced without spoilers. Suffice to say that this will take you into dark territory that is horrifying and hilarious in equal measure.

The film’s title refers to the Greek play “Iphigenia in Aulis” by Euripedes, so clues to the story may be found there. However there is no necessity to be familiar with the play (I certainly wasn’t) to engage with this unique, lingering film. One of my top five films of 2017, and I urge you not to miss it.