Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of a grieving author in 'The Thing With Feathers' falls short due to its heavy-handed approach to tackling one of humanity's most universal experiences. The adaptation of Max Porter's novella has a well-intentioned cast, but ultimately succumbs to its own self-consciousness.
Cumberbatch gives an honest performance as a man reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, struggling to cope with the absence that haunts him. His character's emotional breakdown is palpable, and Cumberbatch brings a sense of vulnerability to the role. However, the film fails to deliver a nuanced exploration of grief, instead opting for a contrived narrative that prioritizes spectacle over subtlety.
The film's central plot device – a giant, nightmarish crow that appears to its protagonist – feels more like a gimmick than a genuine attempt to convey the complexities of grief. The crow's voice, delivered by David Thewlis, is particularly jarring, coming across as more caricatured than cathartic.
The film's attempts at emotional resonance are undermined by its heavy-handed approach to portraying sympathy and support for the grieving character. A cliched scene involving a school gates mum offering an intrusive gesture of condolence serves only to highlight the film's shortcomings in crafting genuine, believable moments of human connection.
While the crow is not an entirely unsatisfying visual representation of death, it feels more like a symbol of malevolent force rather than a genuinely therapeutic device for working through grief. The film's inability to walk this line between horror and emotional resonance results in a viewing experience that is both involving and self-conscious.
Ultimately, 'The Thing With Feathers' fails to deliver on its promise as a thoughtful exploration of grief. When the crow is off-screen, the drama becomes affecting; but once it's present, the film feels forced and contrived.
Cumberbatch gives an honest performance as a man reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, struggling to cope with the absence that haunts him. His character's emotional breakdown is palpable, and Cumberbatch brings a sense of vulnerability to the role. However, the film fails to deliver a nuanced exploration of grief, instead opting for a contrived narrative that prioritizes spectacle over subtlety.
The film's central plot device – a giant, nightmarish crow that appears to its protagonist – feels more like a gimmick than a genuine attempt to convey the complexities of grief. The crow's voice, delivered by David Thewlis, is particularly jarring, coming across as more caricatured than cathartic.
The film's attempts at emotional resonance are undermined by its heavy-handed approach to portraying sympathy and support for the grieving character. A cliched scene involving a school gates mum offering an intrusive gesture of condolence serves only to highlight the film's shortcomings in crafting genuine, believable moments of human connection.
While the crow is not an entirely unsatisfying visual representation of death, it feels more like a symbol of malevolent force rather than a genuinely therapeutic device for working through grief. The film's inability to walk this line between horror and emotional resonance results in a viewing experience that is both involving and self-conscious.
Ultimately, 'The Thing With Feathers' fails to deliver on its promise as a thoughtful exploration of grief. When the crow is off-screen, the drama becomes affecting; but once it's present, the film feels forced and contrived.
I mean, Benedict Cumberbatch is still awesome and all 
, but this movie just didn't do it for me... 
The crow thing was supposed to be symbolic of grief or whatever, but honestly felt like a weird gimmick to me 
. And that scene with the school gates mum? Ugh, so cliched 
. I loved when it wasn't centered around the creepy bird, though - that's when the drama got really good 
. Maybe they just didn't have the right balance between horror and emotional stuff... doesn't mean Cumberbatch's performance was bad, though! He brought a lot of vulnerability to his role 
his pain is real, but the way the film handles it is just too much 
like, yeah, we get it, grief is tough, but can't we just feel it without all the bells and whistles? the crow thing is just so...extra 
and that scene with david thewlis's voice? ugh, it was like someone took all the sympathy in the world and put it into one awkward sentence 
anyway, maybe it's just me, but i needed a break from all the heavy feelings 
I gotta say, Benedict Cumberbatch is still my go-to guy for complex characters 
. He brings so much depth to his roles, but in this movie, I feel like he got overshadowed by the...well, that weird crow 
.
The story becomes so heavy-handed that it starts to feel like a chore to watch. 
. It's just not working for me. 
) and it just starts to feel like they're more interested in shocking us than exploring real emotions.
. It's like the filmmakers were trying too hard to tick every box for a "sympathy scene". But honestly, if you're gonna do something like that, make it feel organic and natural, not forced and contrived 
. Overall, I just felt like this movie was stuck in a bit of a narrative purgatory 
, never quite sure what it wanted to be or how it was going to get there 
.
just watched 'The Thing With Feathers' and I'm still trying to process my thoughts 
... need more subtlety in storytelling, less heavy-handed approach 
... all in all, good effort but could've been so much better 
! He's an amazing actor, no doubt about it. But, like, the whole story felt kinda... off to me. The crow was super creepy, but at the same time, it didn't really add anything to the plot, you know? It just felt like a weird addition to make people go "ooh". And don't even get me started on that one scene where the mum shows up 
. So cheesy! I mean, I feel bad for Cumberbatch's character and all, but the movie didn't really do his emotional breakdown justice.
i get that they wanna tackle grief and stuff, but can't they just do it in a more subtle way? 
i mean benedict does his thing and he's so good at conveying vulnerability but the whole crow thing feels like it's just trying too hard to be emotional 
. And don't even get me started on that cringeworthy scene with the school gates mum... what was the point of that? 
.
i get that the movie is trying to tackle grief but u can't just slap together some cliches & call it a day. it felt more like they were checking off boxes on a list of 'grief tropes' rather than actually exploring anything meaningful 
i think max porter's novella would've been a great story to adapt, but this just felt like they were trying too hard to make it 'deep' 
instead of letting the emotions speak for themselves 
, come on movie, you can do better than that! maybe just show a bunch of people mournin in silence instead 
, you can tell they're trying too hard to tackle grief and death and stuff. and that crow 
. I get that the author is struggling with his wife's passing, but sometimes less is more. The film should've dug deeper into the character's emotions instead of relying on a gimmicky plot device. It's like they're trying to scare us out of our feelings rather than helping us process them. 
and I gotta say, Benedict Cumberbatch was so good in it 
was kinda weird 
was so awkward