The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015): Ireland | UK | Greece | France | Netherlands | USA

Reviewed by Rowen Fields. Viewed at AFT Film Festival 2015.

 “The Lobster” Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is a dark comedy intended for the exploration of love, loneliness and commitment through unusual means. We view this world through David (Collin Ferrell) as he stumbles through a futuristic world where one must find love wishing 45 days, lest be turned into an animal of their choosing and released in to the wild. This film also explores what it means to be an individual as well as what it takes to conform to the society that surrounds us.

While the premise of this film is humorous, it takes a look at what it is to be alone in society and what type of pressure society puts on to being part of a couple to be able to fit in with what is expected of adults. We see these ‘singles’ engage in dinners, dancing, and loner hunting looking for things that they may have similar with the other singles, grasping for anything they can find. One man, the man with the limp (Ben Whishaw), intentionally bloodies his nose to connect with another woman. It is not until a series of events that David falls in love with a loner(Rachel Weisz), and has to figure out how to deal with this, in limbo between a loner and civilization.

This movie explores modern day expressions of connection, looking for little compatibility as long as it means being part of a relationship. The emotionlessness of each character expresses the connectivity this type of society employees. This acting of these characters is what allows this movie to flourish, allowing the humor, shock, horror and experimentation to speak for themselves. While there are points that this movie drags, the end product is a movie that will stick with the viewer past the end credits, as one realizes the social commentary is less futuristic and much more current than most would like to admit.

 

 


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