'The Lobster' A Review

The Lobster is an alternate-reality romantic-dark-comedy about a society in which people are mandated to be in relationships. If an individual is not part of a couple they are given 45 days to find a mate, if they do not they are turned into an animal of their choice. The film opens on David(Colin Farrell) being broken up with by his wife. Per the rules of the City he is quickly taken to the Hotel to spend his allotted time looking for a mate in company with other single people- participating in group activities, doing relationship workshops, and going on hunting trips. The hunting trips are into the forests around the City where single people called Loners live illegally.

Farrell gives an incredible performance- understated, almost blank, but still maintains a melancholic magnetism. Rachel Weisz as the narrator and Farrell's Loner love interest is, as always, compelling. The emotional journey she goes on, although filtered through the stilted acting style, serves as a map for the entire film, she serves as the heart(such as it is) while Farrell serves as the audience stand in. The rest of the ensemble is outstanding, wonderful turns by Ashley Jensen as Biscuit Woman(heartbreaking), Angeliki Papoulia as Heartless Woman(terrifying), and Léa Seydoux as Loner Leader(aloof, almost alien) to name a few. The entire casts performances are filtered through this straight-forward flat-affect, mostly devoid of emotion, completely absent of subtext, almost presentational, which is the style of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos. And although certainly odd it is very effective and unique.

Beautiful and rich cinematography with excellently utilized sequences of slow motion. A classical sometimes eerie, sometimes absurd score. The film is utterly distinct and extremely potent. The tone is mercurial moving from broad comedy, to dark comedy, to tragedy, to almost grotesque horror, but manages to maintain its own inner harmony. There is a wild oscillation in melody but it is never discordant. At times hilarious, at times shockingly disturbing. A powerful allegory, a love story for the modern age.

Bleak but humorous, brutal but not without hope.

Don't Miss It.