Death of a Unicorn was not what I expected in numerous ways. The film, which I really enjoyed, is centered around a father and daughter who recently lost their mother and wife, traveling to a remote nature reserve in Canada to sign a deal for the father’s work. The father Elliot, played by Paul Rudd, drags his daughter, Ridley, played by Jenna Ortega, along on his work trip with a wealthy family so he can financially set both him and his daughter up for life. However, while making the treacherous drive through the nature reserve, Elliot hits a creature, which we learn to be a baby unicorn. Trying to forget their mishap on the way to meet with Elliot’s potential business partners, they carefully lay the baby unicorn in the back of their rental truck, hoping they can bury their mistake, both figuratively and literally, while the family is asleep. Elliot ignores the problem, while Ridley stresses that they need to call for help, only to find themselves under attack by the unicorn’s very powerful and terrifying parents.
The unique storytelling capabilities that A24 gravitates towards made this movie completely unpredictable, leaving its audience not knowing if we were going to walk into a film with serious undertones or a goofy comedy. This movie pleasantly surprised me with elements of both. While the movie did mention the consequences of greed, what money and power can do to people, large corporations, and capitalism, there were moments of silliness and jokes that leveled it out. There was also a mystic factor, with the concept of unicorns existing and them having magical powers that allow them to show the humans where they came from. It was a uniquely constructed, genre-bending adventure film filled with comedy, logic, and even gore, leading me to the conclusion that this truly is a film for everyone. It has a little piece of something that almost anyone can enjoy, which is why I found it so interesting.
I appreciated Ortega’s step out of her usual genre of horror, or even her drama films, for something that was more complex and different. She really embodied her character’s emotions perfectly in every scene, from anger, to horror, to disgust; I’d personally love to see more roles like this in her future. Rudd’s character really just fit him, and it felt as if he was playing himself rather than a character. His awkward, dad-like characteristics really seemed easy for him to play into, and was definitely one of my favorite parts of the film. Other characters included the family Elliot was trying to partner with: the father, Odell Leopold, played by Richard E. Grant, the mother, Belina Leopold, played by Téa Leoni, and their son, Shepard Leopold, played by Will Poulter. Overall, this family’s dynamic is what I think made the film what it came to be. They were all so witty, bratty, and rich, which reflected in the decisions each of the characters made throughout the film, especially regarding the unicorn. However, despite all of these very different and interesting characters, Poulter as the Leopold’s spoiled son was my favorite. He brought most of the comedic relief and was involved in very major plot points and twists throughout the film.
To conclude my review, this definitely is another amazing and unique film from A24. Death of a Unicorn is really interesting, with great points that represent both problems and issues in today’s society and aspects of comedy and mystery. With so many intersections of genre, it can be a movie a group of 20 people could see and all take away something different from. With themes of politics, capitalism, government, large corporations, comedy, mystery, the mystical, and animal cruelty, this film touches on so many things, yet they all worked well together. The many dynamics between families, especially of different socioeconomic status, really created interesting plot points that I think are worth seeing. I rated this movie a seven out ten, and I definitely would give it a watch if you have the chance.