# The Killing of a Sacred Dear - help me understand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983 "2018-04-23T15:16:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/1 "2018-04-23T15:16:21Z")
I rarely have the patience to get through an entire movie anymore. This was an exception. I found it very intriguing. If you are a true movie fan, I think you will enjoy this movie. It’s on Netflix (in Canada anyway). I have to admit that I did not understand it when I finished it. Some reviews really helped but not completely. What did you make of the focus on watches and in particular watch bands? What is with the seductive poses of Anna (Nicole Kidman) and in particular in one scene, Steven (Colin Farrell) removes her underpants). Also, the daughter poses seductively at one point. The dialogue is odd particularly from Stephen. I suppose it might be to make him seem disconnected from the world. There is a reference to the movie Groundhog Day which leads me back to the watches. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/2 "2018-04-23T15:44:00Z")
Haven’t seen it. Read reviews. Know that “the killing of a sacred deer” is a reference to Greek Myth and the Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia to appease the gods and get favorable winds for his fleet. His wife Clytemnestra never forgave him and ended up killing him when he got back from the war. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/3 "2018-04-23T21:44:56Z")
Is it based on Euripides’ [Iphigenia in Tauris?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphigenia_in_Tauris) eta Google says no, it’s [Iphigenia in Aulis.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphigenia_in_Aulis) Rookie mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/4 "2018-04-24T00:11:48Z")
I thought this film was unbearably pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/5 "2020-05-13T22:39:15Z")
Bump. The evil kid did a great job ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/6 "2020-05-13T23:53:44Z")
I loved this movie. I just took it as evil moving in, but coming from inside. i felt like I got it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/7 "2020-05-14T04:13:01Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I thought this film was unbearably pretentious. Oh my god was it ever. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/8 "2020-05-14T14:35:11Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Oh my god was it ever. Oy vey. Was this the one with all the watering of the plants at night? Regardless, there were plenty of other “symbolic / arty” touches that kind of bogged the movie down. Which is not to say I completely disliked it. I certainly wasn’t going to turn it off without finding out how it ends, so I can’t say it didn’t keep my attention. Maybe I expected too much because of the grand title. I knew I’d heard it before but had to look it up to understand it’s source and maybe I was trying to find parallels where none exist. If anyone else has a better understanding, I would be thrilled to be educated. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/9 "2020-05-14T15:14:15Z")
I wouldn’t have given this movie a second thought if not for the line “Do you understand? It’s metaphorical. My example, it’s a metaphor. I mean, it’s uh… it’s symbolic.” Comedy genius. I laughed out loud. ETA: And I think that helps with the rest of the movie. Not treating it all some as furthering some deep metaphor (I mean, duh, there is a lot of metaphor, but maybe it’s not really all that deep), but rather the over-the-top absurdity of it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killing-of-a-sacred-dear-help-me-understand/812983/10 "2020-05-14T17:38:15Z")
Tough crowd. It’s oblique, metaphorical, and somewhat surreal. But it doesn’t seem to “lose control” or lose the thread of the story. One of the creepiest movies I’ve ever seen.