Antlers
searchlight picturesWhile there have been multiple up-and-coming directors have become well known and respected for their new filmographies that show incredible promise and talent, some still slip through the cracks with Scott Cooper, unfortunately, being one of them. Since his debut feature Crazy Heart in 2009, Cooper has created some of the most underrated features in the past decade. With Guillermo del Toro attached as a producer and multiple delays causing the film to grow in the zeitgeist, it seemed as if Antlers might be Cooper's breakout hit but, sadly, the film falls to the weaker side of Cooper's filmography. Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) is a teacher that has returned to her small childhood town in Oregon, where she lives with her brother Paul (Jesse Plemons) following the death of her abusive father that originally drove her away from home. Julia begins to notice that a young boy in her class named Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas) is showing troubling signs regarding possible abuse happening at his home and Julia quickly becomes obsessed with finding out what is troubling Lucas. But instead of an abusive home, she finds herself in the middle of a supernatural battle that will see not just her own life but the lives of everyone around her be put to risk.
When it comes to identity, it is clear that there are two perspectives living within Antlers: one with the adults and one with the children. The film's meditation on trauma and unresolved family pain feels rather mature and successful. Keri Russell has a brooding quality to her performance that slowly reveals the depth and weight of her suffering, while her relationship with Plemons feels rather moving and poignant. There is an elephant in the room when it comes to these two that is undeniably felt within their performances that, while personable, are clearly uneasy in the best of ways. This also serves as a rather unique justification for Julia finding herself in the middle of Lucas's drama that feels inspired and worthy. Ultimately, her desperation and conviction to help someone avoid the lasting pain that haunts her not only makes sense but also adds gravitas to her sometimes illogical mindset.
When it comes to the more supernatural drama, the film feels incredibly lackluster. Instead of creating an original piece of mythology, Antlers defines itself as a wendigo text which feels like a rather obvious mistake. Not only does the film clearly not have the capability to handle a piece of Native American mythology with the respect it deserves, considering how it attempts to shoehorn in an indigenous perspective, but it also simply makes no sense. The windigo is tied to specific moral messages, but Antlers feels uninterested in looking at them. Instead, it attempts to cheaply throw in a message on environmentalism with the wendigo of the film seemingly being tied to a returning mining industry, but this is only mentioned in passing. No thesis ever develops that feels truly worthwhile or like the focus of the film causing the horror to feel incredibly empty. This is only heightened considering the general understanding of the wendigo really making it questionable why the film decided to go this route in the first place. Even the horror this provides is undercut by bad filmmaking that feels restricted and dull. The same kill will happen multiple times in a row with the film never quite sure how to use the windigo physically in an action scene.
When put together, these two sides also do nearly anything other than work together. Not only are these two completely conflicting stories when it comes to message and thesis, but each is also paced wildly differently. While the story of Julia is slowly revealed and clearly an internal struggle, the story of the wendigo moves rapidly and is clearly an external threat. The film is never able to gel these two sides and feels like a clearly mismanaged film of all-around questionable ideas. Considering the rocky distribution story both before and during the pandemic, one has to wonder if studio interference and too much reworking of the film had an effect on its final product, as this feels rather out of place for Cooper's filmography.
It also is simply possible that the screenplay is to blame. Cooper is joined by both C. Henry Chaisson and Nick Antosca and it feels rather plausible that these three had disagreements on what the film was at its core, leading to a confusing blending of ideas. There is also some truly terrible dialogue throughout, with probably the worst coming from a group of bullies who pick on Lucas. Some scenes are underwritten while some feel painfully exposition-heavy causing the change in writers being felt by the scene.
Looking past the content of Antlers, it is worth saying that the film is delivered in an effective enough package overall. The cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister is strong, with the small Oregon town feeling perfectly dark and dirty. This tone is also backed up in the film's choices when it comes to costume design and makeup. It is worth giving credit to Jeremy T. Thomas, who is rather solid for a child actor. The visual effects are also firm enough with the Guillermo del Toro influence being felt undeniable in the creature design.
Especially considering the strength Scott Cooper has shown in the past, Antlers feels like a massive disappointment. The film has a clear potential in the spine of its drama but is so lackluster when it comes to horror and lore that it simply fails. It is a disjointed feature that makes not only little sense, but also ends up having little to actually say.
