The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos’ English-language debut, The Lobster transpires in an alternate reality wherein single people are afforded 45 days to find a mate before they’re turned into an animal of their choosing – with the narrative following Colin Farrell’s David as he attempts to find a suitable partner before his time runs out. It’s perhaps not surprising to note that Lanthimos remains vague on the exact mechanics of the aforementioned society, although, to be fair, the writer/director does a relatively decent job of peppering the stilted dialogue with random (and appreciative) bits of exposition. (The question of why people would agree to live this way remains completely unanswered, however.) There’s little doubt, then, that The Lobster‘s downfall is due predominantly to Lanthimos’ aggressively quirky sensibilities, as the filmmaker has suffused the proceedings with increasingly off-putting elements that drain the viewer’s interest to a more and more distressing extent (ie the novelty of Lanthimos’ unusual approach wears off fairly quickly). It’s apparent, at least, that the movie never quite becomes the complete exercise in tedium one might’ve anticipated, with Lanthimos’ admittedly stirring eye for visuals and the strong performances going a long way towards preventing the viewer from checking out completely. (Well, the performances are as strong as reasonably possible given that each and every actor deadpans their way through the entire narrative.) The final result is a predictably off-kilter endeavor from an unapologetically avant-garde filmmaker, with the movie’s inability to say anything interesting or cogent about modern relationships cementing its place as a misbegotten cinematic experiment.

** out of ****