Debukochi Review of The Killing of a Sacred Deer

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Not a Horror Movie, But a Horrifying Classic Tragedy.

[9/10 · 26 January 2020]

This is a contemporary arthouse rework of the classic Greek tragedy, Iphigenia [ee-pah-gay'-nee-yah] (contrary to YouTube mispronunciations), written by Euripides (484-406 BCE), and interpreted by Michael Cacoyannis in one of the great films of the '70s of the same name. (One can perform a simple Internet search for insight into the mythical origin of this story.) This stylized interpretation is absent any of the archaic, poetic prose of its antecedents--choosing to tell this tale in a contemporary style and setting. Despite this, it can be confusing and even seem illogical, irrational and obtuse to viewers not familiar with the genre of the classic Greek tragedy. Several reviewers seem to be looking for the film to provide an explanation, palatable to a modern mindset, which clarifies 'how' these events could be unfolding. That's not how Greek tragedies work. The film will, however, provide a 'why' for these horrific events (i.e. think 'vengeful gods,' unmoved by even the most passionate pleas for mercy). Not even brilliant physicians, the 'high priests' of our current culture, can provide an understanding or affect a course change in the punishment exacted by these gods through their human vessel (the character, Martin). Viewed in this light, a haircutting scene, foreshadowed early in the film, becomes a gut-wrenching sight--a frantic, futile offering of appeasement by a child, desperately trying to elicit sympathy. This scene is a variation of one from Cacoyannis' Iphigenia, and, when understood in this context, is just as emotionally overwhelming. (I sobbed.) You'd expect A-list actors like Kidman and Farrell to deliver great performances--which they do--but Barry Keoghan's acting as 'Martin' was remarkably haunting; eliciting sympathy, fondness and revulsion, simultaneously. As with most Greek tragedies, the survivors, despite their initial presumed entitlement, acquiesce to accepting the unacceptable (but unavoidable) outcome and find a means to move on, humbled by their inability to escape their fate.