One of the most provocative movies of the year

STARRING Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, this movie is unsettling, disorienting and full of amazing performances. A must-watch.

THE Killing of a Sacred Deer is driven by anticipation — anticipation of horror, relief and a resolution you dread.

The psychological thriller is so tightly wound, every frame and line of dialogue has been expertly calculated to be uncomfortable, to unsettle.

Your reward for sitting through such a film? One of the most ambitious, provocative and visceral movies of the year. Prepare to experience a low-level sense of anxiety for hours afterwards.

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos found mainstream success two years ago with the imaginative The Lobster, set in a world in which coupling-off is mandatory or risk being turned into an animal of your choosing. He even nabbed an Oscar nomination for the screenplay.

For The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos has reteamed with his star from The Lobster, Colin Farrell, whose now-restrained instincts complement the director’s non-naturalistic style.

The story is taken from the myth of Iphigenia, who even gets name-checked halfway through the movie. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was the daughter of a king that angered the goddess Artemis. As vengeance, Artemis demanded the king sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia so he could prevail in the Trojan War.

There are no goddesses or wars in The Killing of a Sacred Deer but there are questions of sacrifice, culpability and fatalism.

Barry Keoghan more than matches Colin Farrell.

Heart surgeon Steven (Farrell) strikes up a relationship with teenager Martin (Barry Keoghan). Years earlier, Martin’s father died on Steven’s operating table. Recently, Steven has been somewhat of a mentor to Martin, giving him advice and gifts.

He even takes Martin home to meet his family — ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), daughter Kim (Raffey Cassidy) and son Bob (Sunny Suljic) — at their beautiful upper-middle-class suburban home.

Soon, his kids are struck by a mysterious illness, one that paralyses but doesn’t show up in any tests. Then Martin gives Steven an impossible choice.

Beautifully composed scenes.

The chilling formalism to Lanthimos’ style is disorientating. There is a stiltedness to every character and to the rhythm of their dialogue. Steven thinks nothing of telling everyone Kim is now menstruating and Anna’s reassurances that “everyone has lovely hair” is unnerving.

Even Martin’s strange behaviour doesn’t seem entirely out of place. By the time the film reaches its terrifying conclusion, it all makes sense in a way that shouldn’t. There’s more than a touch of Stanley Kubrick or the intimate horror of Michael Haneke in The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

The movie is a visual masterpiece, the long tracking corridor shots make for rattling tableaus. The camera is also used to great effect, often positioned high up, almost like CCTV, ensuring each character’s smallness and inevitable doom are emphasised.

This claustrophobic and intense movie is brimming with wonderful performances from its cast, playing at a measured level that most actors wouldn’t have the discipline to carry off. Keoghan, in particular, is a revelation — never tipping his hand but always mesmerising.

Lanthimos has been accused of being a cold and sometimes sadistic filmmaker but his clinical approach only heightens what’s lurking beneath polite society — a ghastly funhouse mirror reflection of our own f**ked-up world.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is in cinemas from today.

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