A truly extraordinary film anchored by an outstanding performance by Cumberbatch
British novelist Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing With Feathers, is a novella first published in 2015. And one that even Porter himself regarded as almost unfilmable. A father of two young boys is left widowed after the sudden death of his wife. A minor scholar, he is trying to finish a book about Ted Hughes whilst grappling with his grief. Ted Hughes is perhaps best known for his “crow” poems, and so the crow starts to take over, even narrating some of the book. The title is a rewording of a line of poet Emily Dickinson: “hope is the thing with feathers.”
In adapting this supposedly unfilmable book to the screen, director and screenwriter Dylan Southern has chosen to take the crow from the literary to the artistic. Instead of a Hughes scholar, Dad is a graphic novelist, working on a crow character. This character starts to move off the page and into the house, goading, comforting, frightening, and protecting, the grieving family. Eric Lampaert does an amazing job of (literally) embodying the crow, making him something more than just another “creature”, and giving him personalised gestures and movements. The incredible work of Crow’s voice is provided by veteran actor David Thewlis. Also full marks to the special effects and creature technicians.
Of course the heart of The Thing With Feathers is the performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. It seems that he gets deeper and more vulnerable with each role. This performance will surely be regarded as one his best, although with an actor of such breadth where does one even start?? Young brothers Richard and Henry Boxall deliver impossibly fine performances as the two sons.
Southern has produced a clever adaptation of a difficult novella. Here is an un-pretty exploration of grief, which asks uncomfortable questions, many of which don’t get answered. This is writing and direction that does not condescend to its audience.
The Thing With Feathers is currently showing as part of the Russell Hobbs British Film Festival at Palace Nova Eastend and Prospect.
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