Bullhead

Bullhead is Belgium’s offering for consideration in this years Oscars and it has a lot going for it. The cinematography is mostly dark and somewhat bleak. There is nothing pretty in this rural Flemish countryside. The acting is superb, particularly leading man, Matthias Schoenaerts who underwent a physical makeover reminiscent of Robert de Niro or Christian Bale. It’s a tale set in the middle of the illegal growth hormone trade and its mafia-like players. Jacky [Schoenaerts] has a painful and horrible past that haunts him with every encounter with those involved. The flashbacks are filmed with a bucolic innocence that is crushed with unspeakable violence. Jacky becomes addicted to steroids in an effort to cope with his past as he administers those same drugs to the cattle his family has raised for generation. The parallels are not subtle and the denouement is not a happy one but this is a tight thriller with great performances about an aspect of our food chain that makes the news all to often.