The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Surgeon Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) and wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) have teen daughter Kim and young son Bob. He is befriended by Martin (Barry Keoghan) who is the son of his dead patient. Martin insinuates himself into Steven's family and Kim falls for him. Martin reveals his threatening predictions with a devastating solution.

After his interesting weird The Lobster, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos creates another oddity. His insistence on the mannered monotone dialogue delivery has a hypnotic effect that puts me to sleep. I had to rewind to get back into the flow. Keoghan's dead-eye serial killer performance is too obvious. I can't believe that Steven would bring him into his home. While I appreciate a lot of the outsider oddity flavor, I cannot take any reality from any of the characters or situation. The first thought I have as Steven is that the boy poisoned my family. At a certain point, these are no longer realistic people but rather artistic installations. There is some value in the artwork and I can imagine this story as a shocking psychological thriller in another person's hands.