I have a lot of confidence in Pierre Ayotte's ability to be subtle, though I imagine it just isn't his style. And while I admire a refusal to compromise, the director must be prepared for the fact that there will likely be a number of people who find this film mildly disturbing, if not offensive.
Even for an audience who isn't offended at the suggestion of bestiality - which is still somewhat disturbing despite the fact that the chicken has been somewhat anthropomorphized – the more graphic visuals could become almost a distraction. Being an animal lover myself, I was really quite distracted by the film's ending scenes. Up until that point the “date” had seemed rather sweet and I kept “Aww”-ing at the chicken. This made the film's ending even more disturbing to me, even though I was half-expecting it. (As such, I ended up hoping that the main character would choke on a chicken bone.)
And for all the animal lovers like myself, the director has assured us that no animals were harmed in the making of Date With A Chicken.
'Unique' doesn't really begin to cover this film. The story is certainly unusual, and its telling certainly does justice to the medium of 35mm. It may prove too disturbing for some audience members, but will likely illicit laughter from the rest.
