Set in the near future, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster tells the story of a society where single individuals are viewed as outcasts, taken to 'The Hotel', where a restrictive regime obliges them to find a new mate in forty-five days. If the occupant is unable to find a partner in the allotted time, they are killed and reincarnated as an animal of one's own choosing; if they do manage to find a partner among the others, the new couple is given a month to try and live together before being let go and sent to live among the better part of society, in The City. Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster is another startling, singular vision from the iconoclast filmmaker, a biting satire of our couple-fixated society where love has become distorted out of fear of loneliness and the desire to assimilate into societies broad definition of love and companionship. The Lobster is a darkly comedic film, and early on, while at The Hotel, the film captures the rate race of intimacy and companionship, exhibiting the awkwardness and fear-driven lies we make, not only to potential companions, but to ourselves, in order to not feel alone. Through absurdest means, Lanthimos captures how individuals sell themselves short in order to feel some semblance of companionship, capturing the competitive nature of courtship, as well as the individuals deteriorating individuality out of fear of loneliness. What makes The Lobster so compelling is it isn't merely against the idea of companionship or love, instead showing how the obsession of being alone subverts and distorts the individuals true understanding of love, one that comes more out of desperation or fear more so than devotion, commitment and sacrifice. Our main protagonist David, a man who struggles to find someone while at the Hotel, begins to form a close relationship with 'the Short-sighted woman', one that unfolds naturally never being out of fear or desperation. This relationship in the film is why I'd that Lanthimos film isn't merely about our societies couple-obsessed fixation but more so about how us as individuals need to forge our own path, not letting society dictate our own definition of love or companionship, with the film's final scene displaying David falling victim once again to the construct of societies interpretation of love, even though it's clear he loves this woman very much. From a technical standpoint, The Lobster is beautifully rendered film, with Lanthimos' thoroughly thought out compositions evoking a sense of rigid stability and forced structure, cinematography that expresses the film's intentions in a visual way. While the film's opaque storytelling, dark humor, and absurdest moments are sure to bother a lot of viewers, The Lobster is another impressive film from the Greek filmmaker who offers up a singular vision of love and companionship in modern society.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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