Yorgos Lanthimos creates characters almost devoid of emotion. However, he is still able to portray exactly what they are feeling, or what you would expect them to feel. A close up of sharp eyes looking across like daggers perfectly creates a sense of anger. A warm glance and a tilt of the head shows happiness. All while the character's faces are ambiguous.

The two emotions he does show are extreme anger and sadness. A culmination of contained feelings and blank stares ending up in explosive rage or devastating cries has a profound effect. The emotions that are shown have such power. Lanthimos is able to make the viewer truly feel these forceful emotions. He pulls you out of your seat and thrusts you into the shoes of the character. You understand everything they have gone through and experience them as people.

The performances in this movie were spectacular all around. Colin Farrell perfectly portrayed the conflicted father faced with making the most difficult decision in the world. How he hopelessly tries to make everything better to no avail. Nicole Kidman excels at representing the confused and worried mother. The one who realizes what is at stake but still manages to stay level-headed. Barry Keoghan perfectly shows what a kid who has lost such a big part of his life feels. How he yearns for vengeance and thirsts for the suffering of those who did him wrong. All this being done while maintaining monotony and emptiness.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is truly an amazing movie. It makes you feel deep emotions, it makes you connect with the characters, it makes you hope for them, and then devastates you when the inevitable comes.