Don’t miss Benedict Cumberbatch in the chilling new drama The Thing with Feathers! A longer trailer has just been released, giving us a better look at the upcoming performance.
The Doctor Strange actor portrays a father of two who is grieving the recent loss of his wife and finding it difficult to adjust to life without her.
As the main character falls deeper into sadness, he begins to have visions of Crow, a bird-like being who mocks him about his pain. This creature seems to delight in his suffering. Learn more about Crow’s symbolism. The visions intensify his despair.
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The trailer shows Cumberbatch’s character, referred to only as Dad, struggling with this unwelcome guest in his house, while his kids begin to suspect something isn’t right with him.
“Dad told stories. The stories changed when Dad changed,” one of the kids says.
Crow’s voice constantly bothers Dad, even when he doesn’t want to hear it. The trailer shows a moment where the main character breaks down while shopping, with Crow criticizing him over the store’s speaker system.
“You’re not real,” he snaps.
Dylan Southern’s film is based on Max Porter’s 2015 book, Grief Is The Thing With Feathers. It first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will be shown at the London Film Festival this month. Movie theaters will then begin showing it in November.
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Thing with Feathers has a critic score of 53% out of 30 reviews.
Reviewers have highly commended Cumberbatch’s outstanding acting (according to JoBlo’s Movie Network), and Collider described the film as a “deeply upsetting but ultimately relieving” experience for those who have dealt with grief.
However, some reviewers felt the film’s use of obvious metaphors to explore grief wasn’t fully effective. They found the symbolism to be a bit too direct and unsubtle.
According to a review by IGN Movies, the obvious metaphor actually weakens the story’s emotional impact, achieving the reverse of what it was meant to do.
Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a committed performance as a father grappling with grief, however, the movie struggles to define what it expects from his character.
In conclusion, Looper.com described the film as “an inescapably compelling drama,” but noted that “the idea behind it was potentially more captivating than how it was actually made.”
The Things with Feathers will be shown at the BFI London Film Festival, taking place from October 8th to 19th. It will then become available in movie theaters starting November 7th.
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2025-10-03 00:49