Lamb-2021

Director Valdimar Johannsson

Starring Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snaer Guonason

Scott’s Review #1,187

Reviewed October 17, 2021

Grade: A-

Director Valdimar Jóhannsson’s feature-length film directorial debut is a mixed recipe of eeriness and gorgeous cinematography sprinkled with horror and dread.

The film is shot entirely in remote Iceland, giving it a texture that is ominous and haunting.

The creation, as described by Lamb (2021), is highly effective in evoking mood and dread, as the feeling that something awful will happen at any moment is unrelenting throughout most of the film.

During numerous sequences, I expected something to leap out from behind a door or suddenly peer through a window, but the film contains no gimmicks.

It doesn’t need them. The low-key musical score is terrific.

After an extremely slow build, the shit finally hits the fan, making the payoff well worth the wait.

On their remote farm, María (Rapace) and Ingvar (Guonason) share a peaceful and idyllic life raising sheep. They are deeply in love but miss having a child. After one of their sheep gives birth to a human/sheep hybrid, they are filled with love and decide to raise it as their own, naming her Ada.

The arrival of Ingvar’s troubled brother Pétur (Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson) upends their calm family dynamic.

Providing an additional hurdle is the arrival of their “daughters'” sheep mother, who remains outside their house, crying for her newborn. She is determined not to let María and Ingvar steal her baby. Does María go too far in a fit of rage?

Jóhannsson, who also co-wrote the screenplay, fills the film with mystery. The first scene depicts a herd of horses terrified by an approaching force that arrives at María and Ingvar’s barn. Later, featured animals, such as a sheep, a cat, and a dog, seem spooked and alert.

What is this force, and what’s in store for the characters?

On the surface, a sheep/human hybrid runs the risk of feeling ridiculous, especially as Ada ages and is clad in bright sweaters and jackets. She cannot speak, but she can comprehend and is capable of feeling and experiencing emotions. She is quite human-like and filled with love.

As an audience member, I took to her and therefore rooted for her happiness.

I adore the characters of María and Ingvar. Preparing meals together, sipping wine, and playing cards, they take turns with the farmwork and make a superb romantic ideal. It’s never known if they once had a child who died or whether Ada is the first sheep/human hybrid they’ve ever seen.

They don’t seem completely surprised at the birth.

When they visit a grave marked with the name Ada, we wonder who the deceased is.

I shuddered upon the arrival of Pétur. A heap of trouble he mooches off of our happy couple and despises Ada, almost shooting her with a shotgun. Thankfully, he has enough sense not to hurt her, but the ever-present shotgun inevitably comes into play later on.

Rapace, Guonason, and Haroldsson provide exceptional acting, which goes a long way to ground a story that could easily be deemed as silly or superfluous.

Cinematographer Eli Arenson deserves major props for capturing gorgeous location shots in Iceland. Having visited this lush geographical paradise, I immediately appreciated what I was being offered and was taken aback by the sprawling farmlands and statuesque mountains.

Those who are squeamish about seeing an animal give birth may want to close their eyes during one scene, which undoubtedly is a real birth of a lamb. I found it beautiful.

The final fifteen minutes of Lamb are violent and daring. Mixed with an obvious nightmare is a sweetness and sincerity that dripped from the screen. The folktale presentation creates a fairytale comparison, and the fate of one character is shrouded in uncertainty.

For those wondering who or what Ada’s father is, Daddy does finally make an appearance.

Lots of questions abound after the credits roll, so might there be a sequel offered by Jóhannsson? Let’s hope so.

Lamb (2021) seamlessly blends the everyday reality of farm work and the daily life of an attractive couple with a horrific folklore story. I might have preferred a slightly faster pace, but by no means did I ever feel robbed of a proper payoff.