About
Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Léa Seydoux
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
“In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.”(IMDb)
»Currently streaming on Netflix«
What to Expect
The Most Dangerous Game
Silent disco in the woods
Awkward lap dances
Why You Should Watch It
If British humor is your thing, this movie is probably for you. The Lobster gets its laughs from the awkward and disconnected behaviors of its characters rather than quirky one-liners and slapstick. It’s a unique take on how society would look if being single were outlawed.
Meh…(D)
The Spoilers
I wanted to love this movie, I really did. It has all the elements of a weird film that I gravitate towards, and I appreciate the original story. I’m fascinated by Farrell’s vastly different look and demeanor, too (and the way he tames those big, expressive eyebrows into submission). But both times I watched The Lobster, I felt incredibly uncomfortable throughout the whole thing. There were several instances that had me barking with laughter, but the dissonant musical score made me feel as though I shouldn’t find anything entertaining. The tone suggests that something horrific is about to occur, and Lanthimos delivers the horrors in David’s (Farrell) dog brother being kicked to death, and the Short Sighted Woman (Weisz) being blinded.
For all the positive reviews and its own insistence that it’s part comedy, I just don’t see it. It’s tragic that David has to gouge his own eyes out so that they can have something in common and stay partners. And the length of the last scene is ambiguous enough that the viewer begins to wonder if he didn’t run back to either the Hotel or the Loners and abandon poor Weisz. While the Biscuit Woman jumping out of the first story window and screaming when David courts the Heartless Woman is darkly hilarious, the movie overall is too black of a black comedy for me to truly enjoy.