India, Jan. 8 -- Grief has long fascinated filmmakers, especially when it spills beyond the emotional and takes on a physical shape. From domestic nightmares to fantastical intrusions, cinema has repeatedly tried to give sorrow a body. Dylan Southern's feature debut - The Thing With Feathers - enters this crowded space with admirable seriousness and a clear desire to unsettle, but despite its ambition and a ferociously committed central performance, the film often confuses emotional weight with sheer force.

Adapted from Max Porter's acclaimed novella Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, the story follows an unnamed London father (Benedict Cumberbatch) who has just lost his wife and is left to raise their two young sons alone. Still numb fro...