4 stars out of 5
At the artsy theater where I saw The Lobster, moviegoers are encouraged to grade the film they’ve just seen and tack up a mini review on a bulletin board in the lobby. I was giddy to see that The Lobster‘s reviews were split between enthusiastic A’s and F’s (and F minuses, and one Z). I guess you love or hate it, without much middle ground.
Me, I loved it. If you haven’t yet heard of The Lobster, here’s a basic synopsis. We meet Colin Farrell’s character, David, much more of a sad sack than his True Detective character, though both are reeling from the dissolution of their marriages. In the world of this movie, instead of moving in with Oscar Madison, a newly single person — single for any reason — must check in to a special hotel. Guests then have 45 days to find a lover. If you don’t, you are transformed into the animal of your choice. David chooses lobster.
Stylistically, early on I was reminded of Wes Anderson — absurdity in the almost-but-not-quite-real world. But as I continued watch, it reminded me more of my new fave, the veteran Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson, with an intense bleakness hanging over the proceedings.
Don’t get too depressed, though, because (like Andersson’s work), this is in many ways a comedy. A dark, dark, dark, dark comedy. It’s a satire and an indictment of the extreme value society seems to place on romantic relationships, and the pathetic view it takes of single people. (Though that’s often a self-imposed analysis by certain singles.) The movie skewers the ultra-specific traits we look for in others to be a “good fit” — or are deal breakers if they don’t have them. And also how we often pretend to be someone we’re not in order to impress a romantic interest, and end up in less than ideal relationships. And just wait till you hear the movie’s view of children!
Now, committed single people don’t exactly get off scot-free in this movie’s philosophy either. If they escape from the hotel, they roam the woods in ponchos with a pack of other Loners. A regular hotel-guest activity: Armed with tranquilizer guns, they hunt down Loners, who if caught are transformed into animals, and then the hunter gets a day added to his or her hotel deadline for each one. (Natch, because of people’s random requests, we see flamingos, camels, etc. cavorting in the forest.) But otherwise, hey, the Loner life is a good one. After all, they get to walk around and listen to music whenever they want to. (Ouch.) And they spitefully want couples to know that they’re not as perfect as they think they are.
The cast is top-notch. Colin Farrell is excellent, paunchy and sad, but still Colin Farrell so he’s kind of appealing. A good guy but we all get a little desperate from time to time. Rachel Weisz, who we don’t see till about halfway through the movie, is also great. Comfortable surviving in the woods or cleaning up nicely for the city, she’s the woman every guy would love to meet… especially if the alternative is turning into a goat. John C. Reilly is another hotel guest; we’ve seen him a time or two as a clumsy suitor, but now add a lisp into that mix. Olivia Colman, from Peep Show and Broadchurch, lays down the law as the hotel manager. For Bond fans, you not only get Ben Whishaw (Q in the last two films) in a fun role but also Léa Seydoux (anything she’d sey, I’d doux) who was a love interest in Spectre. And if you’re really a 007 goon, Seydoux has some conflict in this film with Weisz, Daniel Craig’s real-life missus.
The upshot is a tremendous and tremendously enjoyable, smart movie, with a whole lot of truth for you to mull over. The Lobster was cowritten by Greek guys Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou, and directed by Lanthimos, so now I definitely want to check out their earlier films. In the meantime I can only wonder about the people who gave this an F or lower. That theater crowd skews a bit older. Is it seniors? Or do singles love it and couples don’t? But I can certainly imagine this bumming out some fellow lonelyhearts. Maybe just people who only like really straightforward stories? I don’t know! So go see it and decide. And also decide, which animal would you be?
Jack Silbert, curator