Yorgos Lanthimos is no stranger to the strange, and his latest creation, “The Lobster,” is no exception.
Not fitting into any individual genre, “The Lobster” has a little bit of everything. There are moments so awkward and absurd you’re forced to laugh. There are heartfelt bits where forbidden love struggles — grouped in with a certain suspense that had me watching through my fingers on a few occasions — and a general serious-but-not-too-serious attitude. This film was nothing, if not intriguing.
The story sounds ridiculous upon attempting to explain. Put as simply as possible, in this dystopian world (none of us could figure out exactly where or when the film was supposed to be taking place), individuals are required to have romantic partners. If for any reason one ends up single, anything ranging from divorce to death, they are given 45 days to find a new partner, or else they are to be turned into an animal.
Despite its titular significance, this concept was really only prevalent in the first half of the film, a half which was lighthearted in comparison, and featured most of the comedic content. Colin Ferrell’s protagonist David tries to conform to this system after his wife left him, but near the end of his 45 days decides to seek other options, which guides us into the second half, where it appears that true love has won and everything will be okay, sort of.
This film is anything but simple, and while it’s not a mind-blowing thriller that will leave you with a new outlook on life, you won’t be able to get it out of your head for a while. It’s worth the trip purely to marvel at the fact that someone actually came up with such an absurd concept and managed to execute it so beautifully.
