With “Athena,” which premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, Romain Gavras, son of the directing legend Costa-Gavras (“Z”), drew attention as a feature film director beyond the borders of France for the first time in autumn 2022. One could certainly understand the international fuss surrounding the highly explosive Netflix production; after all, the politically charged action drama shines with impressive technical sophistication. The undisputed highlight is the opening in the form of an eleven-minute planned sequence that captures the looting of a police station and a subsequent street battle between officers and rebellious teenagers – full of smoke and riots, but without a single cut! The experienced music video director has mastered his craft, no question about it.
At the same time, “Athena” also reveals a weakness: the script, co-written by Gavras, visibly falls apart after the furious start. Unfortunately, things are even worse with the dark black comedy “Sacrifice,” his first film with an international cast. The satire, painted with a thick brush but at least mildly entertaining thanks to the cast, develops more and more into a barely tangible, aimlessly meandering mix of eco-thriller and character drama. It never really becomes clear what the film is actually trying to achieve – and so boredom quickly sets in. The renewed technical virtuosity (although this time without a comparable eye-opener like the “Athena” opening) doesn’t really help much.
Hollywood star Mike Tyler (Chris Evans) is supposed to be thrown into a volcano in order to save the earth from destruction.
After her mother’s horrific death in fire, Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her siblings follow a mysterious volcanic prophecy that says they are destined to save the Earth. Their target is a billionaire’s charity event: The group attacks the event and Joan takes three hostages who are to be sacrificed in a cruel ritual – i.e. thrown into a volcano: the film star Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), the performer Katie (Ambika Mod) and the villainous host Ben Bracker (Vincent Cassel). But is this really the right way to save the planet from seemingly certain doom? Mike has to ask himself the same question at some point, as he plays with the idea that such a self-sacrifice could possibly polish up his tarnished image…
A major problem with “Sacrifice” becomes apparent in the first half hour. The film is ultimately just as superficial as the celebrities who meet here as part of a glamorous billionaire gala in a huge marble quarry on a Greek island to raise money to save the planet and fight the climate crisis. The main reason they demonstrate attitude is to feel good about themselves and look good in front of others – they don’t actually give a shit about the thematic occasion.
Humor mercilessly outdated by reality
Of course, the depiction of global chic is meant to be ironic, but the humor has long since been overtaken and overtaken by reality. In times when billionaires buy mega-yachts that hardly fit in any port in the world, or try to father as many children as possible to ensure the continued existence of humanity, reality itself has long since mutated into satire.
At most, Vincent Cassel’s Jeff Bezos-like bald head (“La Haine”) will make you smile, because you’ve actually never seen the accomplished French star like that before. At the same time, the portrayal of the opposing side, which blows up the gala, is also a grab for the toilet. After a summer with over 16,000 heat deaths, you don’t really want to see environmental activists being made fun of in such a clumsy way.
Is Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) really destined to save the world? Or is the eco-terrorist just crazy?
The biggest problem, however, is that Gavras’ film doesn’t know in the slightest what it actually wants. So after the first half hour it wanders along with no direction, only to later end with a weak finale in which the intended drama comes to nothing. Only the cast, who are extremely enthusiastic despite the weak script, are convincing, with everyone seeming to be traveling in his or her own universe. MCU superhero Chris Evans (“Avengers: Doomsday”) in particular scores points as a vain, somewhat simple-minded movie star with a crisis of meaning through a relaxed, charismatic performance.
With some theatrical overacting, Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”) gets the most out of an inconsistently written role that meanders indecisively between psychotic cult leader and conventional love interest. In the meantime, John Malkovich is, as he often is, happily shooting the wheel – but he will probably still win his Oscar for another film, which we would much rather recommend to all fans of the dark, black humor that is also aimed at in “Sacrifice”.
Conclusion: In Romain Gavras’ first film with an international cast there are once again impressive images to be seen, but on the level of content it is a wasteland. The stars get involved, but they can’t get the child out of the well – “Sacrifice” turns out too quickly to be a clumsy and aimless satire on celebrity cult and eco-activism.