lamb is centred on a couple living in nearly total isolation and working all day in their farm in rural iceland. besides the solitude of the environment, the heavy manual labour also leaves them little time to talk and, though they live together, the companionship of marriage is only protocol and each of them is alone.

however, this situation is changed by a bizarre occurrence that ends up healing a grief thats only implied by the film, giving the couple a second chance at parenthood. through that weird creature their lives have a new found meaning and they can once work together for something greater than themselves.

this a promising set up but unfortunately there’s a lot of build up for little delivery. the relationship between the characters isn’t well developed enough to successfully convey their pain and justify their choice to ignore the baby’s nature. instead, the film lingers too much on the repetitive nature of their routines, offering only small suggestions of their grief and alienation, never exploring those deeply enough to convey a clearer message. because of that, the supernatural element feels like a cheap trick to elevate a mediocre story.

5/10 — not good enough to make me stay awake, not bad enough to sleep guilt free.