The Lobster (2015)

Submitted by Huevos___Rancheros t3_10nsw09 in movies

This was my introduction to Yorgos Lanthimos and I have to say, this was an excellent first impression. Just from reading the brief description of this movie alone it completely captivated me, the premise is unlike something I’ve ever seen before and it immediately piqued my interest.

It’s a really unique film that is equally tragic, hysterical, and just completely absurd. I can confidently say that this is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen but I can also say it’s one of the more fucked up movies I’ve ever seen, like this is a movie with lines that made me burst out of laughter like “If you encounter any problems you cannot resolve yourselves, you will be assigned children, that usually helps.“ but then there’s also a woman kicking someone’s brother who’s in the form of a dog to death, so it’s safe to say it’s quite he emotional rollercoaster and I think that’s what makes it really unique, there are so many emotions being played with and it’s executed so perfectly.

The acting performances here are brilliant. Everyone is excellent but the standout for me was Rachel Weisz she knocked it out of the park, her narration was one of my favourite parts of the movie. It’s a really solid movie in terms of directing, cinematography and score as well.

Satire at its best

5/5 ⭐️

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Jamesy555 t1_j6ao13k wrote

I’m a Lanthimos admirer, I saw Dogtooth and didn’t really like it and still made seeing The Lobster at the cinema a priority, I just knew there would be something there for me. It’s pretty rare that a director would make a film I don’t like but I’d be looking forward to the next one, but he has a pretty unique style.

Then following The Lobster (which I liked for a lot of the reasons you listed but didn’t fully click with me) I also caught Sacred Deer at the cinema and that was the first time where everything I wanted from his film felt like it had been fulfilled, absolutely love and it’s my #2 of 2017.

The Favourite, though a touch more mainstream still offers his unique perspective and is well deserving of the awards and critical praise it received.

And I can’t wait for what he does next

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Elbynerual t1_j6bbs4k wrote

That one and sacred deer are so fucking insane lol

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g_st_lt t1_j6bdz57 wrote

It's incredible. It's like he makes it all so bizarre as a trick on the viewer. "This world is totally different than the one I live in." But then if you just describe it, it's a literal description of our world.

It feels (to me) like "satire" isn't the right word for it, but it's exactly the right word for it.

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thesanmich t1_j6ce55n wrote

Crazy, I just rewatched this film. Still love it. It really made me appreciate Colin Farrell.

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RagingCuddler t1_j6e1nbo wrote

This is one of my favorite films that I have no desire to watch again because of how awkward the interactions are and how exhausting the movie is in general. That being said, I felt it was the perfect vehicle to explore the analogy of love (defined here as what two people have in common) in all the various combinations that they did. The most interesting part to me is the ending because the main couple thought they were linked by myopia (as did the leader of the rebels which is why she sabotaged Rachel), which is why Colin Farrell almost certainly will blind himself, when they were actually linked by the sign language they created to converse when with the rebels. This, in my mind, is the film's best approximation of true love, something emergent and shared rather than something analyzed and assessed like all the other couples. Unfortunately, this went unnoticed by the couple themselves.

Also thought the very beginning was hilarious with the guy that turned himself into a sterile mule in order to permanently escape whoever the scorned woman was that shot him. Guy didn't even want risk that he'd have kids with her during his second chance, animal form lmao

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No-Definition1639 t1_j6f9qvf wrote

Replying to Jamesy555 (#1,565,729)

> I also caught Sacred Deer at the cinema and that was the first time where everything I wanted from his film felt like it had been fulfilled,

​

That's how I felt about the movie, too! I loved The Lobster so I went through his other films in the days ever and Sacred Deer just felt so...complete. It's certainly not funny like The Lobster but it's a vision fulfilled.

I love when directors are ambitious and actually make it come together. I've been trying the David Cronenberg films lately and he's similar in terms of ambitiuous, odd scope but just gets lost in his eccentric ideas and there's always this feeling that he missed the point. Lanthimos gets to the finish line, though.

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