They say Idle hands are the devil's workshop and that theme runs strongly through the new film The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. The film stars Collin Farrel as Steven Murphy a Cardiologist who appears to have a perfect life. Big house, beautiful wife (played by Nicole Kidman), and two lovely children, but there is one strange thing about his life and that is his friendship with a young boy named Martin played by Barry Keoghan. As the film progresses we learn that Martin's dad passed away after a car accident. The surgeon who was seeing to his dad was none other than Steven. Now you may think that he just feels sorry for the boy and is taking him under his wing but that is when things take a more sinister turn. When Steven's children suddenly become ill the key to unlocking the mystery of their illness lies only with Martin and their fate sits solely in the hands of Steven himself.
Fans of the film The Lobster will definitely appreciate this movie. It is at most of the time weird AF, but there is something oddly charming about that strangeness that will keep you watching for more. If I had to describe my one takeaway from this movie it would be "I did not see that coming." This film takes us through plenty of dark places and leaves viewers with some tough questions to answer if you put yourself in the role of Steven or even Martin. If the filmmaker's goal was to make you uncomfortable the easily will succeed at some point in this film. It also really makes you think. Hands are the main focus of the film. We can do so much with our hands, both good and evil. There are people out there like Steve who can do amazing things in surgery with their hands, while there are others can cause great pain with them. In this film, we definitely see the true meaning of the Idle Hands quote....and it isn't always pretty. Farrel, Kidman, and Keoghan are just plain awesome in this film, but I do feel like Keoghan steals the show when he is on the screen. His character is charming but also has something about him that makes your internal caution lights go up.
Overall, despite the profound weirdness I really enjoyed this movie. I gave this one a solid B. It is definitely something out of the ordinary and it is definitely dark. You will find yourself watching the movie wondering why the characters are not acting out more to their situations, but it just adds to the creep factor. You may even find yourself walking out of the theater going WTF did I just watch, but I think that if you give yourself some time to really process the story you will see what a clever and strangely awesome tale this is.
Don't miss The Killing Of A Sacred Deer in theaters everywhere October 20th!