The Lobster Review

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by Yorgos Lanthimos

 and Efthymis Filippou

Starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz

The Lobster left me sad, angry, and confused-- yet strangely satisfied. Despite its (often frustratingly) unorthodox direction and pacing, The Lobster really spoke to me. Beside its cynical perspective and overarching satirical mien, The Lobster has good heart and meaning.

When David (Colin Farrell) is left by his wife, he must be checked into a hotel where he is to find a mate. Every "guest" in the hotel is given a base allowance of 45 days, but can earn more by hunting down "loners", single people who skipped town and hide in the woods to escape the law, and turning them in to the hotel. If after those 45 days David remains single, he will be turned into an animal.

This forced condition of partnership, desperately feigning love for someone just to stay alive, is awful. "Love" can't exist without intent and sincerity. David and the other hotel guests are compelled to maintain ersatz relationships in order to survive-- a cruel Catch-22 situation. This meditation on the nature of love and healthy relationships is a great, timeless message I loved.

With that said, The Lobster is a very inaccessible film. I and the rest of this film's appreciative audience are of a cinematic minority. We enjoy the weird, the challenging, the subtle, and the obtuse. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I really enjoyed this wicked riddle of a movie. It's a shame, but many people will be put off by its composition and manner. The film's odd (but fitting) lack of affect in the hotel guests, deliriously nonlinear structure, dark and off-putting comedy, and refusal to explain itself will be loved by people like me, but unfortunately will not be appreciated by Joe Schmoe.

Rating: 4/5

Recommendability: 2/5

Best Line: Hotel Manager: Now have you thought of what animal you'd like to be if you end up alone? 

David: Yes. A lobster. 

Hotel Manager: Why a lobster? 

David: Because lobsters live for over one hundred years, are blue-blooded like aristocrats, and stay fertile all their lives. I also like the sea very much.

Legend

5: See it now! (Amazing/Classic)

4: Very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

3: Good/ inconsistently great..

2: Not good/squandered potential/terrible but had one great part/etc.

1: Walk away and forget about this one/so goddamned bad it’s awesome.