Film Review: The Lobster (2016)

Review for The Lobster (2016)
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Produced by: Film4, Irish Film Board, Eurimages
Distributed by: A24

Pre-Review

I'm going to do something I don't normally do and say, don't read my review of The Lobster, before seeing The Lobster. The reason I say that is because The Lobster does something truly special as a film. It's one of the purest moviegoing experiences and it is going to be one of the best films of the entire year, and the more you know about it, how far it goes with its world and plot and story, the less enjoyable the first-time experience will be. Absolutely go see this film.

Now, if you're still curious or needing a reason to go see it, let me convince you.




Review

The Lobster is set in a world where single people are sent to a treatment facility to find a suitable partner to continue life with. Being partnerless is so extreme that if you are unable to find a partner within forty-five days you get changed into an animal of your own choosing. David (Colin Ferrel, in what may be the most underrated performance of the year) goes to the hotel after he and his wife separate. Taking his brother, now a dog, with him he begins his journey to finding out if he is still capable of loving someone.

This is the basic outline of the Lobster and the film exists entirely within this context. The dialogue of the people is stilted in basic, but characteristic and familiar, like the dialogue of a Wes Anderson film. We get the sense of the way that not just the single people, but the society around them is broken simply by the way they talk. And when the film has you in the most comfortable position of knowing the world, it zooms out and upsets what you think you know.

If there were a specific genre that you had to twist my arm to put The Lobster into, it would be Black Comedy. But I think that undermines the depth of its drama and emotional content. It handles everything that goes into the modern relationship, and the way the world views heteronormativity, gender roles, marriages, children, suicide, violence, and just what type of emotional connection can be truly relied upon.

Every actor performs their job well, John C. Reilley plays his trademark lovable moron, Ashley Jensen performs one of the most heartbreakingly uncomfortable scenes in the film, Ariane Labed plays a cooperative and loyal Maid, Rachel Weisz plays a tragic and lovable woman, Ben Whishaw is equal parts pitiable and pitiless, Angeliki Papouli plays a savage and dangerous woman almost too well, but most notable is Lea Seydoux, last seen as a Bond Girl with more of an attitude, she truly shines here in a role that I can't bear to spoil.

The Lobster is a film that above all else is trying to find a truth. By heightening the grip that society has on our views of relationships, marriage, sexuality, and ultimately everything opposite of those things, it seeks to find the truth. It leaves us on a note that truly asks what we would do for true love, and what is true love, and what does it even look like. It's a film that raises questions, not answers, and that's why it's probably my favorite film of the year so far.

So absolutely go see it.

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