As “Death of a Unicorn” opens, lawyer Elliott (Paul Rudd) and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) are on a road trip to a weekend retreat with one of Elliott’s ultra-wealthy clients. Their relationship seems strained by a mix of teenage angst and the loss of Elliott’s wife (and Ridley’s mother), so Ridley isn’t happy to be dragged along with her father. She certainly makes that clear to him.
On the way to the retreat, something strange happens — they hit a unicorn that charges out into the middle of the road. Elliott and Ridley are rattled at first by what they could have hit, but as they approach the creature, which is bleeding purple, and notice its horn, the realization starts to settle in. Elliott performs a mercy kill for the suffering creature, they throw it in the back of the car and on to their getaway they go.
Elliott needs this weekend to go well, because pharmaceutical tycoon Odell (Richard E. Grant) is one of his most demanding and important clients. When they arrive at the compound, Elliott and Ridley are introduced to Odell’s wife, Belinda (Téa Leoni), and son, Shepard (Will Poulter, a highlight of the film with impeccable comedic timing and delivery). Their initial meet-and-greet feels standard but occasionally tense and Elliott does everything he can to please his client. Things are upended when Elliott’s car begins moving in the driveway and the unicorn is suddenly on the loose.
“Death of a Unicorn” is writer-director Alex Scharfman’s feature debut, and the movie will likely serve as a calling card for more projects (it helps that he has the backing of distributor A24). His first movie is certainly ambitious, but “Death of a Unicorn” is more an ideas movie than a cohesive film that makes good on the ideas presented.
Scharfman has clear reverence for creature features, but tries to elevate the movie with commentary on grief, corruption and greed in the pharmaceutical business. His screenplay introduces these themes, but continually seems hesitant to do anything with them outside of dancing around the larger issues.
As the movie progresses, “Death of a Unicorn” becomes less interested in its higher aspirations and focuses on being a standard grade creature-feature. There’s no fault in having fun with blood splatter and creative ways for a unicorn to impale a character, but Scharfman’s spaghetti-against-the-wall screenplay feels wildly unfocused and afraid to commit to deeper issues presented.
While there’s fun to be had with “Death of a Unicorn,” it winds up being one of the more frustrating kinds of movies: surface-level, non-committal and weightless to the point of feeling time was wasted. All the hallmarks of a feature debut — for better or worse.
“Death of a Unicorn” is currently playing in area theaters.
Matt Passantino is a contributor to CITY.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
