PARK CITY – Not all established documentary filmmakers make the jump to narrative features gracefully, but whatever your thoughts on “The Thing With Features,” you certainly won’t question whether Dylan Southern has a vision. “Feathers,” his first friction work, debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival this weekend and gleefully pushes the envelope in both genre and tone. That being said, despite a committed performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, the end result truly doesn’t coalesce either from an artistic or cinematic perspective.
Adapted from the 2015 novella “Grief Is the Thing with Feathers” by Max Porter, the movie finds Cumberbatch as the father of two young boys, played by real-life brothers Richard and Henry Boxall. The trio are grieving over the unexpected death of their mother, a woman who Dad says later on was literally “everything” to him (and, no, we never learn any of their real names). Within days of her passing it’s clear that Dad, a successful comic book artist, cannot handle the responsibilities of being a solo parent to two kids (seemingly) both under the age of 10. Meanwhile, a black crow starts to case their London duplex, slamming into windows and even trying to get in the premises through the chimney. It’s an ominous sign that Southern is taking this endeavor in a horror-thriller direction. And, yes, while those genre elements are certainly at play, it’s also something of a tease.
The movie is divided into chapters such as “Dad,” “Crow,” “The Boys,” and a fourth we won’t be spoiling here for reasons that will make sense if and when you see the movie. In the first segment, Dad starts to hallucinate that there is a real gigantic, human-speaking crow haunting him. For the majority of the picture, Southern plays with this motif suggesting it is a projection of Dad’s internal anguish and heartache. It could be something he only sees in his head or not, but Southern is not interested in providing definitive answers. Eventually, the kids see The Crow too (or do they?), and the lines of reality and fantasy become more blurred.
Almost immediately, The Crow becomes a gnaw at Dad, insulting him with taunts such as “middle-aged widower” and criticizing his artwork as it forces him to spend hours at his drawing board as the pressure to finish his latest graphic novel grows. Voiced by David Thewlis and played on screen in a fantastically creepy costume by Eric Lampaert, The Crow is perhaps the film’s most impressive feat, even if it evokes the Macaw demon from Daina O. Pusić’s 2023 fantasy, “Tuesday.” The Crow is also the movie’s intended comic relief and not a bad babysitter, either.
As the months pass, it becomes painfully obvious Dad is not getting better. Both boys are acting out in school, seeing a counselor (which isn’t helping), and miss their “old dad.” This new, dark, creature barks at them and has the patience of, well, a crow. Dad’s brother Paul (Sam Spruell) and old university pal Amanda (Vinette Robinson), try to get him out of his funk, but their efforts don’t amount to much except for another opportunity for Dad to wallow in more self-pity.
Where “Feathers” and Southern soar are in several showcase sequences pitting the Crow vs. Cumberbatch’s character. One horrific scene that is slickly and creatively executed finds the bird chasing Dad through a supermarket that has been completely abandoned. Another involves a fight in Dad’s living room that has you wondering if the neighbors can hear what’s going on (if it’s really happening, that is).
From the beginning, however, “Feathers” has set itself up as a film about coming to grips with death. When the fantastical moments become a bit too frequent, you start to wonder when and if that’s going to happen. For much too long, the movie revels in its despair. And we mean revels and that becomes as burdensome for the audience as the Boys. Especially after Dad reaches his low point on the anniversary of his own Mom’s death. And, as we noted, Cumberbatch is committed, but Dad’s arc is often pretty one note. It takes far too long for the generational talent to demonstrate any true range to his character and that’s on the script, not Cumberbatch.
Even if it doesn’t entirely land, Southern has proven he’s a director who deserves our attention for whatever he does next. He has an eye beyond the assistance of his cinematographer, Ben Fordesman. The ideas and individual execution are there. When he figures out how to make them balance succinctly? When to not overstay your welcome? Watch out. [C+/C]
