As the great Aretha Franklin taught us, it’s usually a backhanded approach to begin a critique with praise for the gowns. Or gown, in the case of “Sacred Creatures,” a microbudget hothouse drama otherwise not given to ostentatious styling. Still, it’s a pretty defining dress. Worn for the bulk of the running time by enigmatic focal character Miriam (Olivia Luccardi), it’s both shapeless and striking, equal parts haute couture showstopper and military parachute, while even its color is hard to pin down: regal gold in some lights, bilious chartreuse in others. In a tall tale of a fey outsider elevated to cult-leader status by a passionate mob, costume designer Francesca Cibischino is to be commended on creating a garment that captures both the otherworldly godliness that others see in its wearer, and the girlish absurdity that we do.
In its peculiar changeability and clownish grandeur, the gown could also be a metaphor for Canadian writer-director Frieda Luk‘s intriguing, elusive debut feature — which itself never quite settles on a style or form, roving itchily between barbed social satire, mythic holy-fool fable and dysfunctional family drama. There is potential in all these modes, but for all the compelling ideas thrown into “Sacred Creatures,” most viewers won’t be altogether sure what to take away from it. Luk’s darkly airy tone, however, is genuinely, compellingly unusual, and should be an asset to future works with a slightly sturdier dramatic foundation. Following a premiere in the main competition at Edinburgh, the film could pick up limited international distribution on the strength of its Euro-American cast and overall curiosity factor.
