A Sacrifice Can't Balance Its Overstuffed Story
A Sacrifice is the second full-length film from director Jordan Scott, and her first movie in 15 years. Maybe Jordan Scott was off in Berlin like Ben Monroe (Eric Bana), a psychologist, novelist, and university professor. He's moved to Germany to get some distance between himself and his ex-wife after their recent divorce. Ben's joined by his daughter Mazzy (Sadie Sink), while her mother "finds herself", though Mazzy admits she'll be finding herself with another man, to Ben's frustration.
Mazzy has managed to get herself a man too, a smoky-eyed German lad named Martin (Jonas Dassler) who lives with his storybook-sweet grandmother, for a time at least. That's just the setup for the brief, hour-and-a-half movie. We haven't even mentioned the words "Cult" or "oyster shell". One is crucial, the other goes best with vinegar.
Jordan Scott Has An Eye For Production Design
Scott at least keeps these freewheeling scenes enjoyable to look at. Jordan Scott seems to have inherited her father's knack for production design and every shot, even the odd handheld ones that invade the film from time to time, offers a fascinating look at Berlin and the sterile yet comfortable world of the upper-class European intellectual. Bana's apartment is sparse but bathed in a warm orange glow and the ceilings are so high a wide shot can't capture the top of a rustic ladder leaning against the wall.
Nina's apartment is cream-colored but not boring and the tiny full-size bed she shares with Ben in one sequence is a charming reminder that the entire world doesn't bow to the California King. Even the Cult compound that's tragically only briefly explored, is covered in sparkling white subway tiles and crowned with a beautiful but ominous six-piece light fixture. Scott has the self-respect to let her camera linger, allowing her impressive sets and composition to stand out and bring to life the scenes that are well-acted despite so many clipped and metaphoric lines of dialogue.
By the Time the Finale Comes, There Is Too Much Ground to Cover
Almost immediately, A Sacrifice declares it won't just be juggling one storyline, but four, and as the film cycles through these stories, there's the understanding that they are all connected through some carefully constructed web. It's a web designed by a properly creepy cult leader named Hilma (Sophie Rois). Who Hilma is and what she wants is left up to us, but if she's supposed to be some enigmatic figure like Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, I'm not sure why it's so important we hear her plans laid bare and get an intimate look at her failures.
Hilma, her cult, and her oyster shells are casualties of four disparate stories vying for attention. While they weave in and out of one another, the characters spend a lot of time apart. By the time we get to the final third of the film, A Sacrifice realizes that it's run out of runway. There are multiple flashbacks in a row, previous scenes extended to show a more sinister motivation, and sequences viewed from another character's eyes.
The Sets in A Sacrifice are Lived-In and Unique
After an hour of slow buildup, these revelations come in like a succession of jabs, and once the story reverts to going forward rather than looking back, I was having trouble recalling who knew what when. This backtracking storytelling also highlights a grating number of contrivances that could have been hand-waved away if A Sacrifice didn't insist on reexamining them in flashback. When Ben meets Hilda, she tells him, "I've heard so much about you." Well, tell me what you know, Hilda, because I haven't.
Any one of the stories in A Sacrifice would be worthwhile to follow, but as it were, we only get a taste of each, and it's just not enough to make the ending satisfying. What is portrayed as horrific and tragic becomes melodramatic and arbitrary. If each story thread is going to be tugged in equal measure, at least call in The Sacrifices, so we know what we're getting into.
