Killing of a Sacred Deer: Lost in Frustration

If you haven’t heard about the Greek tragedy that shares its name with this movie, you’ll likely struggle to fully grasp ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’. The same will happen if you view this film as anything other than a heavy metaphor. If you find yourself in either of these groups (as I once did), this explanation aims to shed new light on the film and might even change your opinion about it, for better or for worse.

The film follows Steven Murphy, a successful cardiac surgeon, whose life takes a dark turn when he introduces a teenage boy, Martin, to his family. As strange events begin to unfold, Steven’s children suddenly become paralyzed, and he’s faced with an impossible choice.

Down with the tradition!

The film’s cryptic nature stems from its deliberate subversion of traditional storytelling. Lanthimos employs a cold, detached style that keeps viewers at arm’s length, making it challenging to connect emotionally with the characters or fully grasp their motivations. The dialogue is often stilted and unnatural, further contributing to the sense of unease and disconnection. These artistic choices, while intentional, can leave audiences feeling confused or alienated if they’re not prepared to engage with the film on a more symbolic level.

This is where understanding the Greek tragedy connection becomes crucial. The film’s title alludes to the myth of Iphigenia, a story of sacrifice and moral dilemma that provides a framework for interpreting the events of the movie. Without this context, many of the film’s choices may seem arbitrary or nonsensical, when in fact they’re carefully crafted allusions to this ancient tale.

Sacrifices and choices

In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was the daughter of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. As the Greek fleet prepared to sail for Troy, they were becalmed at Aulis due to Artemis’s anger. The goddess had been offended by Agamemnon, who had either boasted that he was a better hunter than her or had killed one of her sacred animals.

To appease Artemis and allow the fleet to sail, Agamemnon was told he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Faced with an impossible choice between his daughter’s life and his duty as a leader, Agamemnon ultimately decided to sacrifice Iphigenia for the greater good of the Greek army.

This myth encapsulates themes of sacrifice, moral dilemma, and the tension between personal loyalty and larger responsibilities – all of which are central to Lanthimos’s film. The ‘sacred deer’ in the title refers to the animal sacred to Artemis, drawing a direct line between the ancient myth and the modern story.

Lost in frustration

But even if you’re aware of this connection with Greek mythology and understand that the movie is a heavy metaphor, I bet you couldn’t escape the feeling that something is just not right. As events unfold in the movie, you might first ask yourself: ‘Is this some kind of hypnosis, curse, or paranormal ability?’ Then you might shift to considering ‘karma,’ but after a while, you start to realize that the movie is some kind of metaphor. But a metaphor for what? It seems that even the movie’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos, doesn’t have a definitive answer for that. He describes his work on the movie as an attempt ‘to create an impossible equation with an impossible answer, basically.’