The Lobster

Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz in The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster is one of the most original and well acted films I have seen in some time. Set some time in the near future, the film is mostly set in a rural Irish hotel where single guests are sent to find a mate. If they don't find a suitable partner in a moth or so, they are turned another creature of their choice. Colin Farrell plays a buttoned down type who, if he fails to find a mate, has chosen to be turned into the titular crustacean. 

One indicator of the quality of Farrell's performance is that my wife, used to swooning at his mannish appeal, failed to even recognize him; so resolutely has Farrell dug into his character's colorless affect. Complications ensue at the hotel and Farrell joins a resistance group in the countryside who have rebelled against the prevailing order. Lanthimos wisely avoids detailing the backstory of whatever biological cataclysm has occurred. He is more focused on interpersonal relationships than the world at large. As in his earlier Dogtooth, he is concerned with the clash between nature and nurture and how it impacts our personal lives. My feeling is he leans towards nature. His characters tend to deconstruct because of biological factors that are beyond their control. 

The cast is uniformly excellent. Ben Whishaw and John C. Reilly both register as Farrell's closest buds at the hotel. Reilly's role is a neat fit for his sad sack persona, his character practically has 'kick me' printed on his rear. Rachel Weisz is stellar as usual as Farrell's lady love and Lea Seydoux continues to impress as a tough resistance leader. The actors dig into the black comic, somewhat Kubrickian tone. Like the master, Lanthimos looks at his creations with a dispassionate objectivity. Farrell and Weisz escape, but Lanthimos literally pictures their love as blind. (8/26/16)