THE STORY – Struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses his hold on reality as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
THE CAST – Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell & David Thewlis
THE TEAM – Dylan Southern (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes
Grief can take many forms, including a towering black crow who squawks, bullies, and attacks you when you least expect it. At least, that’s the shape it takes in Dylan Southern’s fantastical nightmare “The Thing With Feathers,” adapted from Max Porter’s novel. With this trippy exploration of grief (a bit similar to Daina Oniunas-Pusić’s A24 film “Tuesday“), the film is at its best when grounded in reality, allowing star Benedict Cumberbatch to showcase his captivating on-screen presence in such a raw and vulnerable way. But the more it leans into the weird and outlandish, the more it loses audiences in the process.
We find a family consisting of Dad (Cumberbatch) and two young boys (Richard and Henry Boxall) during one of the most challenging moments of their lives. Their wife/mother has suddenly and tragically passed away, and no one knows how to move forward. “You had an amazing mum,” Dad tries to say stoically, but his voice can’t help but crack. Those first few days without her are terrible – he breaks down on the couch one night and quickly realizes just how much he depended on her, as everything goes wrong during a chaotic breakfast one morning. The only thing worse is having to hear people say “sorry for your loss” repeatedly, usually at the most inopportune moments.
But things are about to get a lot worse when overwhelming depression kicks in. Grief is the thing with feathers, and it makes itself known early on in the film, as a small crow appears precariously on a windowsill and flies inside the home (the sound work is terrific, capturing every feather shuffle and caw). It later manifests into a nightmarish form: A tall, sinister-voiced black crow (voiced by David Thewlis), enough to make Edgar Allan Poe squirm in his seat. At times, the crow stands in the background, looming over Dad while he works as a graphic artist; other times, it mocks him and hits him rather violently. It’s clear that Crow/grief is in control of Dad, and no matter how much he wishes it would leave him alone, it’s a process through which he has to work. One sequence in a market is particularly chilling as the aisles close in on Dad, and Crow says, “You don’t get to say how this goes.” Crow is clearly a manifestation in his head, but there are times when Dad squawks while drawing or doing other household tasks, showing he’s losing his marbles in the process. Through it all, Cumberbatch makes you feel his pain, one messy, emotional night at a time. He’s one of those actors who fully embodies his characters, their emotions, and their journeys, and Dad feels like a fully fleshed-out person because of the introspective work he brings to the role.
But it’s not just Dad who is grieving. Southern also takes the time to show how the young boys are processing this devastating time in their lives. While their father tries to keep things as normal as possible for them, it’ll never be the same without their mother. As a result, one of the boys acts out at home and disobeys his father, and both of them struggle to form connections with their father. They’re seeing a different kind of dad at home, and that’s equally hard to process on top of their mother’s death. Crow also appears for them, though more gentle than he is with Dad. It’s an essential element for this story to explore, especially since few films find ways to articulate how a child might feel when grieving and what it’s like to see a parent struggle.
After a certain point, however, these fantastical elements become arduous to watch. Crow loses his luster and doesn’t become very compelling onscreen, mainly because we’ve already seen just how far he can take things with Dad. When the film heads into genuinely dark territory – when grief turns into despair – there’s too much going on psychologically and metaphorically, and it’s not hitting in the ways Southern intends. Not everything needs to have a horrific aspect to it when it comes to a film about grieving, and, in fact, the more grounded elements, featuring scenes from Dad and the boys’ lives as they’re processing their pain, are far more fascianting to watch. We could have also used more scenes of the three forming a closer bond in the face of tragedy than all the weird, outlandish moments we got.
“The Thing With Feathers” puts a unique spin on a story about processing loss, but it leans too much into physical manifestations of the psychological and moves away from its most emotionally impactful aspects. Cumberbatch delivers yet another fantastic performance, especially when he digs deep into his character’s tormented psyche to bring something human to what can sometimes feel a bit disconnected from the human experience despite the film’s intentions.
