The Killing of a Sacred Deer

[wooders1978]

Haven't got around to lobster (or anything else he has done) so didn't realise the stilted dialogue was his "thing" and I found it quite distracting and arbitrarily weird and it put me off almost to the point of giving up on the film - I am glad I didn't as the 2nd act is an absolutely brilliant piece of film making

[Obel]

Yeah it's tricky the whole dialogue thing. The girl I saw the film with didn't enjoy it, and she put it down to how terrible the acting was. I had to explain that's sort of the directors style, but she had none of it. I can see where she's coming from though. To be fair I found it much more tolerable than The Lobster, as most of the stilted dialog comes from the Dunkirk kid and it kinda worked for his weird character. In the Lobster everybody spoke like that and it did my fucking head in after a while.
Apparently Dogtooth is the same but I couldn't tell so much due to it being Greek.

Overall I think this is whatshisnames best film out of Dog, Lob and Deer. I will probably rewatch it. None of his films are amazing, but at least they're always interesting and I'm glad he's around.

[zomgmouse]

Personally I think all of those are amazing - the only one I felt lukewarm to was Alps, which was still very very good. Otherwise 9 or 10 out of 10 for me.

[greenman]

Personally I think all of those are amazing - the only one I felt lukewarm to was Alps, which was still very very good. Otherwise 9 or 10 out of 10 for me.

I am coming around to the idea of him being the best currently working director, I mean the nature of his work means its not easy to put in view in a casual fashion as with a lot of Hanke for example but I don't think that stands against its quality.

The real purpose of the stilted dialog to me seems to be to deliberately push the actors performance away from the traditional into something more subtle where drama is sold in expression, physically or the odd falter in speech. All of his films to me seem akin to something like The Remains of the Day, a lot of the drama comes from the emotional repression on display with nobody able to express how they actually feel to each other with the masks only slipping the odd moment. I mean here its far sader that Farrell is breaking down alone outside rather than with his family.

[Vitalstatistix]

(Farrell asking the headmaster which child was the best being the glaring example)

This was my favourite bit. Clearly played for laughs.

[chocky909]

Did anyone else spot the similarity in looks (especially the eyes) between the girl who played the daughter and Jessica Barden who was the nosebleedy swimmer in The Lobster? Methinks Yorgos has a type...

Really not too sure about this. I loved all the scenes individually but I'm not sure I enjoyed the way the plot developed and information was doled out. I felt slightly frustrated at many points rather than intrigued. I do though suspect further viewings might be more enjoyable.

[Custard]

Thought this was pretty great. Very weird and off kilter, but the madness of the premise really worked for me, and I thought the cast were great. Especially Farrell and Dunkirk kid. The weird kid was almost channelling Ledger's Joker when he was tied up and beaten. Astounding performance

The end was so insane and pitch black dark that it made me laugh too. Shades of Kill List. Though they should have had Farrell spin round more times before he eventually hit something. Heighten the absurdity and tension even more

I need to see The Lobster now. And the copy of Dogtooth I've had for months!

[Custard]

Watched The Lobster last night

Fuck me. One of the funniest things I've seen in a loooong time. So weird, everything feels off, and the premise is ridiculous and hilarious. I don't think a film has gripped me so firmly in ages

Olivia Colman was awesome, as was Ben Whishaw. Ah sod it, the whole cast were great. Colin Farrell is a superb comedic actor. I knew he had funny chops from In Bruges, but here he was brilliant. Rachel Weisz should do more comedy too. Her voiceover and delivery is hysterical.

Oh man, loved it

[Lost Oliver]

Yeah, I LOVED The Lobster. Don't get the criticism of the second half but seem to be alone on this.

Really enjoyed The Killing of a Sacred Deer but it wasn't as shocking or as unnerving as I'd expect from him. Possibly my least favourite since Kinetta but that means nothing because I think he's a brilliant.

My feeling towards it may grow in time as it has stayed with me, I just felt it lacked the surrealism that its counterparts had is spades.

That said, as has been mentioned up to, that scene when Farrell discloses his secret moments after wafting his son around dropping him on the floor is absolutely hilarious.

[itsfredtitmus]

Haneke-wave

[zomgmouse]

Yeah, I LOVED The Lobster. Don't get the criticism of the second half but seem to be alone on this.

Not alone! I loved it from start to finish. The section in the woods was every bit as satisfying and weird as the bit in the animal love centre.

[greenman]

Finally got around to watching Alps, I would say the weakest of his 4 proper films but on its own merits very worthwhile.

The main issue for me was that the setup of the situation was less interesting than the other three, partly a relative lack of character/detail(it does almost feel like a bit of a dry run for The Lobster) and partly less interesting visually, perhaps lack of budget with things not being so confined as Dogtooth?

When it does kick into gear in the last 30-40 mins or so it improves considerably I'd say and honestly I wonder why Angeliki Papoulia hasn't been in demand far more.

[Icehaven]

I can't believe I watched this and didn't immediately realise it was the same bloke that made The Lobster. Even thought 'Some of the dialogue delivery is very similar to The Lobster, maybe that's Colin Farrell's thing now."

So all this filmaker's films are like this then? I'm out. I can watch one film that's idiosyncratic and deliberately off-kilter in a very specific way and that's fine, I get it, it's like that for a reason and that's the film. But to just keep applying the same tricks to whatever story you're telling or point you're trying to make just doesn't work for me at all if it's a style I can't be doing with, which I'm afraid this director's is. I'm not against highly idiosyncratic film makers per se at all, and there's several I like a lot (even though I still think repeating a strong style can often end up making the potentially unpredictable seem weirdly predictable, if that makes sense.) but I find it way too contrived to keep repeatedly contrasting protagonist's dispassion and stilted dialogue with massively dramatic, shocking events, it just smacks of trying way, way too hard to elicit a very specific reaction, which doesn't really work when you can see it coming a mile off because it's a Lanthimos film.
I just about managed to enjoy The Lobster because I'd never seen one of his films before, and the whole premise was so silly, and got sillier and more surreal as it went along, that the coldness and seriousness worked, but in this it just served to make the film itself seem silly. I get that it might just be I find his style tiresome and OTT, but I also think it was misapplied here.

[Wet Blanket]

I hope he doesn't read that and change, because I love it. I've always loved deadpan absurdity. His English films remind me of the Chris Morris monologues from Blue Jam. I thought Sacred Deer showed up Michael Haneke for the old stick in the mud he is. Usually I hate magic realism but it really works for me in Lanthimos' films because it's used in the service of such a sour worldview.

[Icehaven]

I hope he doesn't read that and change...

Well he just better had do or it's just hubris.
Seriously though it's not that I hate that style outright, I just personally don't think it stands up to repetition, but of course YMMV.

[Wet Blanket]

I get many miles to the gallon. I don't think it's hubris at all to follow a singular vision. It's not like there's a shortage of straightforward films being made, if Yorgos Lanthimos wants to disappear down a Beckettian rabbit hole I'm utterly prepared to follow him.

[Icehaven]

I get many miles to the gallon. I don't think it's hubris at all to follow a singular vision.

Err...I wasn't being entirely serious in that part of my post. As much as I like the idea of an acclaimed international film director  abandoning his whole approach because I don't like it, I'm a little more realistic in my actual expectations.

[Wet Blanket]

I realised that after I'd posted but sod it, I'm a maverick and I bloody love that mad Greek cunt

[greenman]

Maybe its the language barrier but I don't view his Greek films as being quite the same in terms of dialog, Dogtooth especially doesn't really give the impression it exists in a world were everyone speaks in such a fashion and Alps leaves it a little up in the air along with generally having quite limited dialog.

Watching Sacred Dear I did definitely wonder at first whether the style really worked in a world that isn't so obviously fantastical but I think you get an effective payoff as it advances and becomes more like his previous work in strangeness. If the whole performances were stilted I could see more of an issue but again to me it works because it makes the characters all the more isolated, more normal people stuck in a world of unemotional communication.

[VelourSpirit]

This is on Amazon Prime now, nice surprise. Loved it. Think I enjoyed The Lobster more but I've already been thinking about this film a lot more. I really wonder how Lanthimos directs his cast. How does he convey that style of speaking so that everyone does it similarly?