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Written by: Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Passalis, Mary Tsoni
Rated: NR (NC-17)
Watch the trailer
Plot
A controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offspring in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.
Verdict
This movie is not an easy watch, and it's certainly not for everyone. You could look at this as taking the protection of your children to an extreme, but it also could be a guy on an extreme power trip. These adult children have been stunted emotionally by their controlling father. This is bleak and it presents an idea, leaving the viewer to consider it.
It depends.
Review
Yorgos Lanthimos's movies are definitely different, but it's clear he's examining themes and society. Having seen and enjoyed The Lobster and Killing of a Sacred Deer, it's clear Lanthimos is creative and capable.
Parents try to save their children from the outside world have protected them too much. The movie provides no explanation. It helps to know a little going in just to have a bearing of what's happening. These parents, in particular the father, has endeavored to block the influence of the outside world on his children. What he's done is molded children into adults physically that function as children. In one his children, blocking the outside world has only fueled her interest.
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| Son, Older Daughter, Younger Daughter, Christina |
This movie is bewildering at first from the games the children play to the how the parents teach them the wrong definition of words. Some of that is protecting them from 'bad' words, but some of it seems like a means of control. Why has the father created this for his family?
Parents have an immense about of control in how they shape their children. The job should be to prepare them to live on their own and function in society, but here the father has ensured his children can't live on their own and will always depend on him. His demand for obedience seems like a means of control and power. Certainly you have to protect your children, but at a certain point you must begin preparing them for life.
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| Son, Older Daughter |
Throughout the movie I wondered why the parents would do this. The movie never explains. This is a conversation starter. This might have been a means of protection at one point, but it's gone past that. Now they are just stunting their childrens' emotional growth. They're physically adults but mentally children.
Having been exposed to so little, anything makes an imprint on the children. The parents should have helped the children grow, but it's like the parents never left treating the kids like pre-schoolers. Well except for providing the son a sexual partner which just doesn't make sense with how they treat the children in other aspects of their life.
This is an uncomfortable movie and that's certainly the intention. Maybe the parents wanted to save the kids from the outside world, but that mindset never changed. Now there is no one to save the kids from the parents. This shows how much influence parents have over their children, but it's not absolute. It really seems like the father found a way for absolute power, and that he's control and power hungry.
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