Lamb - Nature vs Nurture

Lamb is the kind of movie that divides audiences. Some will love it, some will hate it. I think true to A24 style this one will hold anyones attention with both its visuals and its bizarreness. 

Visually its just a treat. The views and landscape are breathtaking and the cinematic language is top notch. They chose to do a lot of frames within a frame using windows, doors, and hallways. They also chose to put their subjects center frame. Notice how when the house is shown from the interior it’s always looking out through a tight space, a door, a window etc. Notice also that when the house is shown from the exterior it’s a flat space/frame in contrast to the wide open space of the landscapes. These were choices I liked. Choices that conveyed outside vs inside, nature vs nurture, boxed in vs out and open. When the camera speaks visually like this it absorbs the attention. 

But it’s more than its visuals, it’s downright bizarre. I don’t want to provide any analysis so I don’t spoil the movie but I’ll talk a bit about it’s message. Theme wise it’s drenched in religious allusions. The opening shot is of a snowy landscape that reminds you of sheep’s wool, “who’s fleece is white as snow.” The day is Christmas Day, and there’s Maria (Mary) and a little lamb. There’s 2 opposing forces: mother 
 nature (lamb) and mother nurture (Mary). This collision unfolds in 3 acts and causes the audience to ask what’s best: Nature or Nurture? It says a lot about human beings and who we are, especially in relation to animals. Who rules who? Or is everyone and everything equal? Should human beings domesticate animals? Should they have animals for their own comfort and to ease their pain? That’s a question that takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1-3. Interestingly this landscape is very paradise and Eden like. Lamb in its fairy tale setting and with all its bizarreness really is about answering, “what is man?” Whether that answer satisfies or not is entirely up to the viewer.

Without spoiling anything it’s worth a watch for the visuals, the bizarreness, and the great performances!