Directed by : Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by : Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Starring : Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, Ariane Labed, Ben Whishaw, Rosanna Hoult
Release Date : October 15, 2015
From the creative and unique mind of Director Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Lobster" is another bizarre but absolutely fascinating movie of his. This is like a satire or a twisted comedy commenting on people living the single life looking for companionship, as well as a critique on people who are in a relationship. That's what this film is about thematically at least, and it may sound familiar just from that description alone. However, combine that with the premise about a world where people have to fall in love and be married, or be forced to literally be turned into an animal, and you've got a movie that's unlike any other.
The odd tone of this movie and just the weird concept alone should make viewers feel a little bit unnerved. What I found most fascinating is the world building in this movie that establishes the rules of the land, and how people in this reality behaves. Part of the fun in watching this is how these unusual rules are gradually revealed as the film moves along. There are rules of what the hotel occupants can or cannot do, as they look for somebody to be a couple with. There are also rules on what people can or cannot do when they choose to be alone. The logic behind these rules play like commentaries on how we ourselves can view what single life or married life are. I found it all so very interesting.
Depending on your sense of humor, there are actually a lot of plot developments that I found pretty entertaining to see happen. Several scenes that should be troubling to see play out come off so matter-of-factly in this movie, that at times it makes you question if you're supposed to be horrified or amused by what's going on. A lot of that has to do with how people in this reality act. Every character seems to talk in a very deadpan, monotone and unemotional way, which leads to dialogue that sounds wooden and scenes of heavy awkwardness. However it is amusing to see scenes where people can be rude and tactless, but in a civilized and polite way. This once again just feeds into the film's twisted sense of humor.
Kudos to the whole cast of "The Lobster," who were spectacular in bringing their very odd characters to life in this very thought provoking story. There's a lot that this movie is saying, but it's weirdness will limit the kinds of people who will enjoy seeing this.
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