Animals like grizzly bear or buffalo may look like sweet and cuddly creatures, but in reality they can be quite the opposite if you do not respect them when encountering them in the wild. Even when seeing shows like My Little Pony can give the perception that all horses are friendly and tame, but what about when it is a fictional creature that is actually seen that is known for being gentle and heroic?
Death of a Unicorn is the big screen writing and directorial debut of Alex Scharfman and stars Jenna Oretga, Paul Rudd, Anthony Carrigan, Richard E Grant, Tea Leoni, and Will Poulter. In it, Elliot Kintner (Rudd) is an attorney on a work trip with his daughter, Ridley (Ortega), trying to become the legal adviser of the wealthy and terminally ill Odell (Grant). While on the way to his secluded mansion in the mountains, Elliot hits what appears to be a unicorn with his car and kills it. Putting the unicorn in his car, he discovers that the residents of Odell’s mansion know that the unicorn has healing powers, and to make matters worse other unicorns descend on their location to claim the body for themselves. And then it gets worse.
One of the best aspects of this film is the visuals, especially the parts shot at the mansion. When the magical elements are added with the right amount of CGI (especially the night scenes) I was blown away. When it comes to the cast, with seasoned pros like Rudd, Leoni, and Grant, there is great chemistry. Amongst this strong cast, I want to especially recognize Leoni as the noncaring rich aristocrat.
To describe the script itself, I would have to say it is “something different”. As the one-sheet for this film hints at, there are some very graphic moments here, so be aware there. The run time here is just over one hundred minutes, which was just right for this film and honestly the suspension of disbelief factor did not take me out of it. If there are any issues that I have here, it would be that the filmmakers tried to add to many genres into one script, which does weigh it down. It felt they the basic plot of E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial on a more mature level; yes, it DOES have tense moments but at the same time add some good comedy that even made graphic moments funny. Did I love this Death of a Unicorn? No. But I didn’t hate it either. If you want to watch something that is different but not a thinking man’s film, I will recommend it as watching it at home on as streaming service.