‘Sacrifice’ review: Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy head muddled Romain Gavras eco thriller

Dir: Romain Gavras. UK/Greece. 103mins

On a remote Greek island, a charity event is overtaken by ecoterrorists who insist the end of the world is nigh. Rambunctiously riffing on celebrity, activism, technology and economic inequality, this dark satire works best when the director’s swirl of images achieves a hypnotic, primal rush. At other times, Sacrifice is as muddled as the terrorists’ plan. 

Makes a lot of noise without saying much

Romain Gavras’s 2022 breakout third feature Athena was a visually striking, politically provocative drama, and he continues in that vein with this nervy English-language debut, which contains many of the same strengths and shortcomings. Premiering in Toronto, Sacrifice boasts his starriest cast, which includes Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy. (Vincent Cassel, who toplined Gavras’ 2010 debut Our Day Will Come, is also part of the ensemble.) Younger audiences should spark to this topical, idiosyncratic film and, even if mainstream embrace seems unlikely, Sacrifice could earn cult status.

Vain movie star Mike (Evans) has been invited to a prestigious gala in Greece meant to raise awareness about the dangers of global warming. Having recently had an embarrassing meltdown on a red carpet, Mike hopes this charity ball will launch his comeback – but the evening goes in an unpredictable direction once Joan (Taylor-Joy) and her well-armed guerrilla soldiers take everyone hostage. Joan informs the crowd that a nearby volcano is about to erupt unless a few of the invitees perform a ritual sacrifice by jumping into it; and that one of them is to be Mike.

Reuniting with Athena cinematographer Matias Boucard, Gavras has his knives out for several social ills — most specifically, the hypocrisy of the elite, who espouse high-minded ideals but never carry through with their pledges to save the planet. Sacrifice is beautifully shot, highlighting production designer Arnaud Roth’s (also returning from Athena) chilly interiors during the charity event and, later, the sweeping Greek landscapes as Joan, Mike and others make their fateful trek to the volcano.

Yet underneath those images is anger at the feebleness of modern social change at a moment when there is so much wrong in the world. The event’s well-heeled guests, which include arrogant tech mogul Ben (Vincent Cassel), speak in inane bromides, while Joan’s ecoterrorists see themselves as the ones truly making a difference.

Joan’s certainty that the planet will end unless this imminent eruption is stopped provides Sacrifice with a hint of intrigue. Initially, Gavras builds suspense over whether Joan’s assertion will be proven true but, eventually, the screenplay succumbs to glib generalities about its satirical targets. Evans wields mega-watt charisma that belies his character’s gaping insecurities, but Mike is so shallowly conceived that the expected jokes made at his expense never draw blood. Likewise, Sacrifice’s jabs at the self-involved wealthy play out exactly as one would imagine. This is a satire in which the objects of scorn are not comedically loathsome enough to truly detest.

Gavras’s urban-riot drama Athena was equally as ambitious but similarly undercut by an unfocused message. Sacrifice contains nothing as bravura as Athena’s unbroken 11-minute opening shot, but Gavras is most confident marshalling his creative team to conjure up a grand metaphor for the madness and futility of contemporary life. Taylor-Joy mesmerises as this passionate but naive cult leader who has no problem resorting to violence, but the convoluted nature of her group’s mission detracts from the kinetic kick of the film’s visuals and score. (The French musician GENER8ION incorporates string instruments, electronic elements and a choir for a disorienting bevy of arresting sounds.)

Several in the big-name ensemble are badly underutilised. Salma Hayek Pinault barely registers in a brief role as Ben’s wife, while John Malkovich’s late-reel cameo as Joan’s father fails to excite. As for Evans, his performance is stronger the more wordless it becomes. In Sacrifice’s closing sections, Gavras strips away dialogue — even logic — to craft a surreal finale that’s far more instinctual and less didactic than what came before. In a film that makes a lot of noise without saying much, Evans’s silent, soulful expressions end up speaking volumes.