If you dare tread into the dark depths of the psyche, who better to lead you than the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch?
Now screening at the Russell Hobbs 2025 British Film Festival, The Thing with Feathers takes us on a harrowing ride into the world of grief. With Cumberbatch at the helm and some exquisite cinematography, director Dylan Southern doesn’t shy away from the difficult subject matter.
The film is adapted from the hugely popular novella, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter. It tells the story of a father and his two sons rocked by the sudden death of their wife and mother. As the father (Dad) deals with his loss while attempting to parent his motherless children, the family is visited by a strange, unwanted houseguest called Crow.
It’s a multi-genre reimagining that blends gothic fable, psychological thriller, fantasy and horror.
The fragmented, poetic structure of the novella makes for a difficult adaptation to get right. Southern chooses to present it in 3 vignette-like perspectives, through Dad, Boys and Crow.
The opening scene is bleak in the aftermath of the funeral, with the father sitting in a silent, dark room with his boys. The first impulse is to look away from the coming intensity, but Porter and Southern create intrigue that holds us between fascination and dread.
The novella has an interesting background. It was the author’s debut book and was inspired by a book of poems called Crow, written by English poet Ted Hughes. Ted Hughes was married to the famous poet Sylvia Plath, and he wrote Crow, his bleakest, darkest work, in the wake of her suicide. And where did Hughes get his inspiration for the Crow poems? From the ink drawings of American artist Leonard Baskin.
Southern, who also wrote the screenplay, beautifully incorporates all this into the film. We see black ink sprayed across canvases as Dad wrestles with his loss through his work as a writer and artist. I love how art and story connect across formats like this, inspiring creatives to reimagine.
The book was also adapted into a stage play, first in 2019 starring Cillian Murphy. It was recently staged by Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. Check out The Scoop’s review of that production here.
The title of the novella and film is a reference to the Emily Dickinson poem, Hope is the Thing with Feathers. Hope, or perhaps transformation, comes in the confronting embodiment of a menacing crow that takes on a larger-than-life form. This crow quickly barrels the film into dark fantasy. This is where it gets interesting, moving from bleak realism and raw emotion to the bizarre, gothic fable it becomes.
The film attempts a tightrope walk between reality and fantasy, raw emotion and dark absurdism, a tricky balance. At times, this balancing act struggles to work. Cumberbatch’s commitment to truth and his unique ability to pull the audience in keep the story moving.
Cumberbatch is perfect for this tricky genre-crossing piece. He is one of those rare actors who can balance nuanced internal layering with heightened physicality. As Crow enters his psyche, we see him start to embody the bird, with sharp twitches and shrieks.
His work in this is quite similar to the Netflix miniseries Eric, in which he plays a puppeteer whose son goes missing. In both, we are privy to his extraordinary vocal and physical flexibility.
The choice to cast unknowns as the Boys, played by Henry and Richard Bovell, works beautifully. As brothers in real life, their familiarity serves to ground the story against the ‘Babadook’- like horror elements.
Then there’s the Crow, fittingly voiced by David Thewlis and performed by Eric Lampaert in a costume designed by sculptor Nicola Hicks. Perhaps the most intriguing and unique aspect of the film, but it also dances the fine line of irritating the audience out of the story.
Inspired by the ‘80s and a huge fan of monster movies and in-camera effects, Southern decided to make Crow live-action. He wanted it to feel tactile, organic and handmade and to blend the mundanity of everyday with fantasy.
A highlight for me was the cinematography and production design. Director of Photography Ben Fordesman creates a tonal landscape that’s melancholic yet deceptively comforting with tones of blues, greens and oranges. With production designer Susie Davies’ soft, autumnal colours, they evoke the father’s engulfing grief, pulling us into a suffocating vortex of dark emotions.
Southern wanted to remain faithful to the way Porter’s novella is unapologetically unsentimental. He achieves this, but at times it tends to wallow in the melancholy and despair. More levity and nuance might have added weight.
The Thing with Feathers is confronting, bizarre, arty and a little awkward. But it’s worth the ride for lovers of the dark and deep.
The Thing With Feathers opens today at select cinemas nationally as part of the Russell Hobbs 2025 British Film Festival.
Tickets: https://britishfilmfestival.com.au/films/bff25-the-thing-with-feathers
Website: https://britishfilmfestival.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/britishfilmfest/
Watch the trailer:
Film details:
Title: The Thing With Feathers
Director: Dylan Southern
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxhall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell
Country of Origin: UK
Rating: MA 15+
Duration: 98 mins
