A quiet birthday dinner between two couples takes a sinister turn at a country estate. Barbarians feints and parries before delivering wicked knockout blows. What begins as a character study in emasculation, deceit, and jealousy becomes something completely different. You really have no idea where the plot is going until several dark reveals. The film packs a lot of subtle details in a short runtime. Not all of it works. But you’re glued to the screen when the poop hits the fan.
Lucas (Tom Cullen), a macho and arrogant real estate developer, shoots a cringe worthy commercial for a new property with his girlfriend, Chloe (Inès Spiridonov). Gateway, nestled in the English countryside by a famous Druid stone, seems like an idyllic home. He’s given the beautiful existing estate, called Gateway One, to a wealthy sculptor and painter. If she creates original artworks to lure in wealthy buyers. Eva (Catalina Sandino Moreno) adores the place. Adam (Iwan Rheon), her timid husband, isn’t sold on Gateway.
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Eva invites Lucas and Chloe to a couples’ dinner celebrating Adam’s birthday. He despises Lucas. Who mocks Adam’s height and constantly challenges his masculinity. The evening starts off innocently. Adam bites his tongue as Lucas continues to belittle him. Everything changes when Lucas tells Eva he wants to renegotiate their deal on the property. This infuriates her and sparks a chain of bloody events.
Charles Dorfman’s Feature Debut
Barbarians is told in chapters. We meet the couples first. Then get a bigger picture of what’s really happening with Gateway. Charles Dorfman, the producer of Honest Thief and The Lost Daughter, hooks with sleight of hand tactics in his feature debut. A grizzly find in the opening scenes introduces different possibilities. The characters’ motives, creepy discoveries, and a dispute over the property’s acquisition keeps the plot murky. I didn’t have a clue what was going on in the film. The true narrative comes into focus right around dessert. Let’s just say that no one wants or gets seconds.
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The contrast between Lucas and Adam drives the film. Lucas is the poster boy for toxic masculinity. His muscular frame, beard, and aggressive social media posting screams scumbag. The diminutive Adam chafes at his bullying. But he also has an inferiority complex with his wife’s success. The couple agrees to split everything. But she’s famous, gorgeous, and makes a lot more money than he does. This simmering undercurrent becomes a riptide as we learn there’s a lot hidden between them.
Barbarians Drops the Mind Games
IFC
Personality conflicts get physical in a vicious third act. Barbarians drops the mind games for fight or flight survival. The violence is terrifying and ugly. I had a few logic issues about what transpires. All the breadcrumbs Charles Dorfman drops finally makes sense. It’s a bit of a stretch. But I was admittedly sucked in by the abrupt plot deviation.
Barbarians will have negative reactions. The multiple twists can be criticized as throwing paint on a wall. Then going with whatever splat makes the most impact. The minor droplets don’t go anywhere. They serve as diversions to keep the audience guessing. I don’t view this as subterfuge. The film kept my attention rapt.
Barbarians is a production of Buckland, Media Finance Capital, and Samuel Marshall Films. It will have an April 1st theatrical release from IFC Midnight.
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About The Author
Julian Roman
(1496 Articles Published)
Julian Roman has been with Movieweb for nearly twenty years. An avid film buff, he feels lucky to have interviewed and written extensively about Hollywood’s greatest talents. In his spare time he plays guitar, treasures good company, and always seeks new adventures.
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