OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

Mark H. Rapaport’s debut feature, Hippo, is a peculiar and unsettling dive into the dynamics of a dysfunctional family told in a stark, straightforward visual style. 

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Shot in black and white, the film centers on Hippo, an 18-year-old obsessed with video games and violence, played with disturbing conviction by Kimball Farley. Lilla Kizlinger co-stars as his stepsister, Buttercup, a sheltered 17-year-old with an obsession of her own – having a baby.

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Eliza Roberts plays their mentally unwell mother, Ethel, while Eric Roberts narrates with a flat impartiality.

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Each family member has experienced loss: Hippo’s father passed away, and Buttercup lost both of her birth parents and was adopted from Hungary. 

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The storyline is austere and intentionally minimalist, focusing almost exclusively on the small family’s daily lives. They wake up, eat breakfast, and stare at the walls. Both teenagers are horny without any kind of understanding of what that means. Occasionally, Hippo trains with a crossbow in the nearby woods, or masturbates with the delusion that his seed can fight off alien invaders. Buttercup often just watches her brother, but she doesn’t have anything to compare his behavior against, so she doesn’t see him as abnormal. 

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Initially, there’s a dry comedic tone reminiscent of early Wes Anderson, but that steadily morphs into something darker – and stranger. The black comedy takes a backseat and the story veers into more unsettling territory. Themes of violence, innocence, and dysfunction are explored, but the film never explicitly judges the characters. Instead, it presents them in their raw, unvarnished forms – stunted, naive, and ultimately left behind by societal norms. 

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Farley’s portrayal of Hippo is compelling. He’s narcissistic, delusional, and yet oddly innocent all at once. He oscillates between believing he’s a god-king and struggling with the most basic human needs, like who will make him breakfast. 

Kizlinger’s performance as Buttercup, meanwhile, grounds the film. Despite the eccentricities surrounding her, she brings a believability and sincerity to the role that makes the audience feel for her naive quest for companionship, even when she makes some unsettling choices.

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Hippo is undeniably well-directed and performed, and Rapaport has a clear vision. The visuals are stark, the atmosphere is tense, and there’s an intention of pulling comedy from the uncomfortable and absurd. But, by the end, it’s hard to discern what this movie really wants to say. 

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Maybe the point is that there is no point – that life is chaotic, strange, and often incomprehensible. Some may leave Hippo feeling perplexed and saddened by the bleak depiction of humanity’s basic instincts and failures. But despite the lack of a clear message, there’s no denying the film’s haunting impact and its critique of the human condition. If you’re in the mood for something eccentric and thought-provoking, Hippo is worth the weird, unnerving ride.