The Lobster

The Lobster is the English-language début feature of Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. It takes place in an unspecified dystopian future, in and around an old-fashioned hotel that borders a large forest but is within walking distance of a major city (seemingly in Ireland but referred to only as “The City”). Single people are required to check into this hotel to find a mate. Once they sign in, they’re at the mercy of the tyrannical staff and the strict, often preposterous rules of a forty-five day program designed to get them coupled up with a suitable match.

Like in his previous films Dogtooth (2010) and Alps (2012), Lanthimos and his collaborator Efthymis Filippou (who also co-wrote those pictures) explore their strange, distinctly regulated community with minimal exposition through a lens of deadpan humor. It’s unclear if we’re looking at the future of Western civilization, or some isolated corner of contemporary culture.  As the film unfolds we are drawn deeper into the absurdist world of the hotel and its environs, and the dark social satire contained within.

The impressive and eclectic cast features Irish superstar Colin Farrell, English art-house luminary Rachel Weisz, American indie favorite John C. Reilly, French ingénue Léa Seydoux, Scottish comic actress Ashley Jensen, the Greek-born stars of Alps (Angeliki Papoulia and Ariane Labed), and British stalwarts Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, and Ben Whishaw. They all work beautifully together—even the often-hammy Farrell embraces the somber, underplayed approach required to put this film across. The strong ensemble and the themes of authoritarianism, conformity, individuality, and who “matters” in society recall Lindsay Anderson—the film feels like something that iconic director might have come up with if he’d worked in the sci-fi genre.

The Lobster grows gradually funnier and funnier and more and more intriguing until it unfortunately runs out of steam before reaching its conclusion. Maintaining such a heightened metaphorical conceit and arch yet minimalist tone is a tall order that Lanthimos doesn’t fully pull off. Many will grow impatient with The Lobster as it crawls towards its final moments. Thus this doesn’t qualify as Lanthimos’ masterpiece, but the forty-two year old director clearly has a lot of arrows in his quiver, and his cinematic reach is growing more powerful with each release.