The Killing of a Sacred Deer

This movie was incredibly strange and didn't work at all for either myself or my group of friends, with whom I watched it. We felt that there was a serious direction problem in this. ALL of the performances felt flat and boring, and were all a fairly flat monotone that meant none of them stood out as particularly good. There were several moments that were genuinely hilarious, but I'm not sure they were intended to be. The writing was also off, which didn't help the direction problems; because the performances were so robotic, the strange lines themselves became even more weird sounding. The score was maybe the worst part of the movie; at several times it completely broke the little tension that the film had managed to create. It was almost comedic sometimes, and at others it was way too heavy handed and trying to force me to see a scene a specific way. We didn't really enjoy it.

This film managed to keep me fully engaged. I watched it at 1.0 speed, which has been challenging for me lately. The plot was so thrilling, but after it ended, I had this feeling of uncertainty. Perhaps I did not realize something, or maybe there was a hidden reason behind everything that was happening. I was left with unanswered questions. However, as I read other reviews, I started to realize that this was my first time watching a film by Yorgos Lanthimos, and I did not fully catch up to his style. By the way, I discovered this film through Barry Keoghan, and he did not disappoint. My next stop is "The Lobster" as you all love it so much.

I found this to be one of the better Yorgos Lanthimos films, but I just cannot get behind his writing style. The stories he delivers are incredibly unique and I want to like them so much more than I actually do. Despite those drawbacks, _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_ was a mind-bending movie that threw me for a loop. The performances were great all around, as they should be with a star-studded cast featuring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan. The plot was incredibly twisted and dark. I enjoyed this film, but much like Lobster, and really wish there was a more modern spin on the writing instead of the short choppy and somewhat awkward framing that Lanthimos is known for. **Score:** _65%_ | **Verdict:** _Decent_