However, those last seven words seem redundant. The men (and gods) in The Killing of a Sacred Deer are impotent, in both a literal and a figurative sense. Early in the film, Lanthimos teases a glimpse of the sex life between Steven and Anna. Getting ready for bed, they discuss their plans for the days ahead. Reaching the edge of the bed, Anna inquires, “General anaesthetic?”
Anna strips down, and drapes herself across the bed. She lies perfectly still, immobile. She might as well be dead. She becomes a passive object for Steven’s pleasure. He touches himself, caresses her body, adjusts her form on the bed as if she were a prop. It seems that Steven can only have sex with his wife when she is limp. (Later in the film, Martin awkward rejects Kim’s overt advances.)
Early in the film, the dynamic between Steven and Anna is quite clear. They are both professionals; Steven is a cardiologist, and Anna is an ophthalmist. However, Anna is also tasked with the maintenance of the family home. Until the tasks were assigned out to Bob and Kim, Anna was responsible for watering the plants and walking the dogs. Indeed, over the course of the film, Bob and Kim both prove quite ineffective at completing even those simple tasks.
However, Anna is very much responsible for the cohesion of the family unit, for making sure that it operates efficiently. At dinner parties, it is Anna who explains that Steven does not drink. When Bob is taken to the hospital, it is Anna who takes him home. When the child stays overnight, it is Anna who brings in donuts. When Steven falls asleep at his desk, it is Anna who suggests breakfast. There is every indication that both Steven and Anna have accepted this dynamic unquestioningly.
The assumption seems to be that Steven is the leader of the family, the one responsible for providing and setting a direction. In contrast, Anna is responsible for the maintenance of that family unit without questioning or undermining Steven’s authority. Indeed, Steven seems offended when Anna attempts to offer a medical opinion on the mysterious affliction that has taken hold of their children. Steven rather brutally points out that her area of medical expertise is confined to the eyes.
Over the course of The Killing of a Sacred Deer, this very conservative and traditionalist family dynamic begins to break down. Most obviously, Steven is revealed to be completely powerless to protect his family. He is as impotent as he feared he was all those years ago, using those various measurements of masculinity. When Kim falls sick, Steven drives out to the Lang household and bangs furiously on the door. “Open the door!” he demands. “Or I will smash it down!” Martin does not open the door. Needless to say, Steven does not smash it down. His rage is hollow.
It is telling that the mysterious ailment affecting the Murphy family is rooted in paralysis. The first symptom is loss of motor function, with Bob and Kim confined to beds and wheelchairs. The second symptom is “refusal of food to the point of starvation.” In effect, this affliction reduces the children to purely passive objects. They become inert, trapped in place. This paralysis reflects Steven’s indecisiveness. Steven is largely passive over the course of the film. His most dynamic decision is to abduct Martin later in the story, an act of aggression that accomplishes exactly nothing, while at least paying lip service to the idea of masculine authority.
CinÉireann / November 2017 15
“What else to you want me do?” - Steven
Something to put an end to this situation,” - Anna