Poking fun at the absurdity of celebrity is of course never unwarranted but it also frequently comes across as a little fatiguing. The target is easier than ever and too often, so are the jokes, incisive satire proving hard to nail when the subjects have become so indistinguishably cartoonish. The same has become true of the wealthy in general and recent films that have tried to lampoon either have felt lazy, pointing and laughing at something that’s stopped being funny a long time ago.
There’s an initial kick then to the new film from French music video provocateur turned film-maker Romain Gavras, who finds a more precise section of the VIP area to ridicule: performative environmentalists. As the world continues to burn, artists and those who use that word loosely, have attached themselves to the crisis whether it be to make themselves seem worthier to their fanbase or to make terrible art in its name. There’s both here in Sacrifice, a biting comedy thriller that lands us at another meaningless gala, set inside a remote location in Greece. We arrive with troubled movie star Mike (Chris Evans), panicking over his perceived hair loss (his assistant, played by Sam Richardson, ensures him that another trip to Turkey is easily scheduled) and eager to move past a rather embarrassing viral clip of him ranting with a flame-thrower at the premiere of his action vehicle Octavius: The Last Centurion. He’s technically there to do good for the environment but he’s really just there to do good for his image, something that takes a setback when he sees Bezos-styled billionaire Ben (Vincent Cassel) showing a Daily Mail TikTok of his freakout to others. Ben’s wife Gloria (Salma Hayek) is a pop star whose latest album is designed to be from the perspective of a flood.
After Ben announces a new mining scheme that he claims will actually help the ocean (!), Mike takes the stage for another rant, turning himself into an internet joke once again. But things are about to get a lot worse as a group of cultish eco-terrorists (dubbed “Green Isis” on the ground) take the event hostage, pausing a dance performance designed to help save the environment (featuring Charli xcx in a cameo as Mother Nature). They are led by Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) who announces that the world is days from extinction and to prevent a volcano from erupting, they must throw some celebrities in it.
It’s the kind of setup one might expect from Ruben Östlund and Taylor-Joy herself starred in the adjacent eat-the-rich foodie satire The Menu but Gavras, and co-writer Will Arbery, known for Succession, find their own spark in the witty and well-observed first act. Their jabs are obvious but amusing and there’s something recognisably nauseating about the self-importance of hearing a certain brand of modern celebrity convinced their work will somehow contribute to global betterment. But as we leave the event, as the quest truly begins, Gavras starts to lose his grasp, less confident when tackling a world outside the poppy excess he’s come to know (and sometimes hate) so well. The larking around starts to turn more serious but the film can’t quite decide just how seriously we should be taking it and debates over proven science v fixed beliefs go from circular and repetitive to genuinely baffling when a last act John Malkovich appears.
What keeps us glued throughout is Evans, who gives an unusually top-tier performance, finding space to make his spiralling actor both pathetically funny and affectingly human, It’s the kind of film one can imagine Evans taking on back when he was still taking chances and before he was completely subsumed within the Marvel universe. He’s technically out now but he’s not really found much of a groove since, getting involved with some of the shoddiest streaming projects of the last few years (Ghosted, Red One, The Gray Man, Pain Hustlers), bad films that he’s also been bad in, adding a worrying question mark to his star status. Gavras has given him perhaps his greatest role to date here and he runs with it. Cassel has far less to do but has fun ragging on him (“I can’t believe I’m going to die next to a Golden Globe loser”) and there’s a wordless yet utterly transfixing performance from Jade Croot, who was similarly chilling in this year’s Sundance horror Rabbit Trap.
They make for a fine cast (Hayek is underused yet in small moments provides a reminder of just how great she can be at comedy) but Gavras leaves them and us stranded on the way to his out-there ending. Even before we’re looking into a volcano, Sacrifice has fallen over the edge.