Grief is an intensely personal emotion, and people have different ways of coping. The Thing With Feathers, adapted from Max Porter’s 2015 debut novella, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, looks at a widower (Benedict Cumberbatch) dealing with the loss of his wife, while trying to be present for his two young sons (Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall).
We first meet Dad and the boys as they return from Mum’s (Claire Cartwright) funeral. Dad, a graphic novelist, is obviously shattered. When the boys say they would like to go back to school, he is quite lost about where their things are, and, of course, there is no milk in the fridge for their breakfast cereal.
The boys begin to act up, with the younger one wetting his bed and the older one being fractious. As Dad works, he sees his creation, a gigantic Crow (Eric Lampaert), come to life. First, he can see Crow from the corner of his eye, and later it is fully realised and, for better or worse, it speaks to Dad.
Crow speaks to Dad in the supermarket, at home, and even dances with him to a lovely jazz tune. Crow is sometimes sarcastic (“You’re such a cliché, you know? The dead wife trope”, “Grieving widower to aisle nine,” “You sound like a fridge magnet!”) and sometimes scary.
The Thing With Feathers (English)
Director: Dylan Southern
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell, Leo Bill, Tim Plester, David Thewlis
Runtime: 104 minutes
Storyline: A grieving widower caring for his young sons begins to lose his grip on reality with the appearance of an unwelcome visitor
The boys see Crow, too. The way Crow morphs from an insubstantial shadow to a solid form with bright eyes, a cruel beak and eerily human fingers echoes the stages of grief, from horror to acceptance. The therapist, Dr Bowden (Leo Bill), tells Dad it is time he differentiates between grief and despair.
Unlike the book, there is no mention of Ted Hughes and his book of poetry, Crow, which Hughes wrote as a way of coping with his poet wife, Sylvia Plath’s death by suicide. The film also speaks of the healing nature of art and literature. Incidentally, the book’s title is a riff on the Emily Dickinson poem, ’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.”
A still from ‘The Thing With Feathers’
| Photo Credit:
Anthony Dickenson / The Thing with Feathers Ltd
Like the book, The Thing With Feathers is told from different perspectives in the form of chapters — Dad, Crow, Boys and The Demon. Cumberbatch is riveting as Dad, but is so wrecked that one almost wants to look away at this naked display of grief. The boys are excellent too, as is David Thewlis as the voice of Crow, at once cajoling, mothering and a beady-eyed therapist.
Ben Fordesman’s frames capture a gloomy, rain-splattered London, which is very different from the bright and pretty London of Richard Curtis films, but beautiful nevertheless. For those who feel the Crow is not scary enough, or that the magic realism does not quite work, it must be said that everyone’s journey of grief is personal, which is why the movie might not speak to all. However, if you are willing to give it time and overlook the uneven writing, The Thing with Feathers is a fascinating ride.
The Thing with Feathers is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play
