Review of Lamb (2015) by Rmurray847 — 10 Aug 2023

I hate to generalize about a movie studio, but A24 certainly tends to present films that have no problems with the "slow burn". MIDSOMMAR springs instantly to mind. The recent C'MON, C'MON. Many others, including LAMB. If you don't have the patience for atmosphere, a slow-build and (in this film) large chunks of relative silence...keep looking for something else to watch. On the other hand, if you can give yourself over to the mood of a film and trust the artists involved to take you on a worthwhile journey...get ready for a deeply strange and captivating story.

LAMB is set on a very isolated farm somewhere in Iceland. I don't know my Icelandic geography very well, but the farm really seems to be almost literally cut off from the world, as though the couple that lives there must somehow be totally self-sufficient. Certainly they are forced to get by with each other's company (and that of their farm animals, primarily sheep) for a really long time. The long, silent opening sequence focuses on the sheep...just showing them sort of going about their business but then freaking out by SOMETHING that has come into their midst. It's a wholly disturbing sequence and gets you into a creepy, chilly mood right out of the gate. A mood that never entirely dissipates. We then meet the lonely couple that owns the farm and lives in the modest farmhouse. Both are likeable but it's clear their relationship isn't all it could be. Later hints give as an idea of some of the big issues that have come between these quiet, gentle people.

At the risk of sharing ruining too much, I'll only go as far as the trailers for the film take us...a sheep soon gives birth to a rather extraordinary lamb. And the lamb becomes a replacement child for the couple. Later, the husband's ne'er-do-well brother stops by for a visit, and now events begin to proceed at a brisker pace.

There are horror elements in LAMB, some overt, but most merely hints. But my takeaway from the film was one of having seen an Icelandic folktale, perhaps updated to our time, but a folktale nonetheless. I have no idea if there is in fact such a tale out there...but when I think of how strangely people in the film react to certain outrageous events, this is the conclusion I draw (along with my own feeling while watching the film). Weird stuff happens, but no one questions it. This extraordinary lamb is never questioned. No one asks "how did this happen" or "what is going on?!?!?" Think back on the fairy tales Americans are most exposed to...PRINCESS AND THE FROG for example. No one ever says "wait, what, a frog is actually a prince?" No, the big question lies around whether the princess will let the frog live with her! In LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, it's taken for granted that a wolf could swallow a grandma and a little girl and that they could be cut out unharmed. Those wild and crazy portions of the story are just about incidental to other themes being explored. LAMB has that "things like this happen in this world" vibe.

Once you sort of get that mindset, the bulk of LAMB plays out like a sad, tender, (sometimes funny), completely understandable domestic drama. Man, woman, brother & lamb interact in a world only slightly off-kilter from ours. One we can understand and empathize with.

It's a gorgeous film, with amazing landscapes providing a harsh backdrop to everything. It's well-acted and confidently directed. I found it to be one of the great treats of my 2021 movie-going experiences.