“The Lobster” is such an original movie that to describe it would
necessarily require a comprehensive rehashing of the plot. I simply cannot say
it is like some other movie you know. But to not rehash the entire movie and
only focus on the beginning would also be to sell itself short because one of
the more interesting characters (Rachel Weisz) is only introduced halfway
through and what happens with her and the main character, i.e. the Lobster
(Colin Farrell) is more interesting than what happens in the first half. But
for the second part to make any sense, one needs to understand the first part,
and I can’t do that without giving it all away. So just take my word for it:
Rachel Weisz is great in this movie and I can’t tell you why.
It starts with The Lobster checking into the Hotel on the Seashore next
to a Forest away from the City. He has been recently divorced. The Hotel, a
creature of the State, will allow him to stay for 45 days to find himself a
mate. If he doesn’t they will turn him into an animal. He gets to choose the
animal. He chooses Lobster. It isn’t a completely arbitrary choice. As he
explains the animal will live a long time and he likes the sea. So it works in a
way. And that in a nutshell is how this movie works (more a miracle the more I
think about it). It chooses seemingly arbitrary and bizarre rules to follow and
then with a totally straight face follows them without flinching. The result is
an sincere, engrossing, and surprisingly consistent romantic comedy. And it is
a romantic comedy as strange as that may sound when applied to a movie such as
this.
No State in the known world would ever force people to find a mate
within 45 days before turning them into an animal. And that is likely because
no state in the known world deals with the kind of hopelessly anti romantic people
that inhabit this movie. Colin Farell along with his new guy friends John C.
Reilly and Ben Whishaw do not want to be turned into animals. Neither do the
females at the Hotel. But at the same time there seems to be an unwritten rule
that couples need to have a unique trait in common. Ben Whishaw has a limp.
John C. Reilly has a lisp. There is this really hot girl who eventually gets
turned into a pony because she can’t find anyone else who has great hair.
The Hotel has seminars and mixers in which relationships are promoted in
the least appetizing way possible. There is a rule against masturbating in the
hotel and the maids, as part of their job desciption, are to dry hump the
guests (but not to climax) in order to stimulate them to find mates amongst the
other guests. As Colin Farrell understatedly intones, “Awful, just awful.”
If this is a satire on something I don’t know what that could possibly
be and honestly I do not really care. I don’t want to think there is an agenda
behind this movie. If there were it would be a stupid way to push it because
nothing in here has anything to do with reality. The only way it works is by
its own rules all by itself. And encapsulated as such, it sets its rules out
clearly follows them steadfastly and exploits them for humorous and romantic effect.
To make matters more interesting, the outcasts of this mandatory
romantic society are a guerilla band of loners who carry out terrorist missions
targeted to break up the couples at the retreat. The guests at the hotel are
given tranquilizer guns and every once in a while bussed to the woods where they can earn an extra day for each loner they capture. There is a heartless
woman guest (played by Aggeliki Papoulia) that is particularly adept at hunting
other human beings. She is at 158 days currently. Hilarity and Tragedy ensues
when The Lobster tries to woo her by pretending to be heartless as well.
The movie is filled end to end with interesting details: for example
when the loners celebrate they listen to electronic music with headphones. That
way even when they are celebrating together they dance alone. And in the city,
a person shopping alone can be stopped by the police and asked for their
marriage certificate. The movie was directed by Yorgos Lathimos and also
co-written by him. He is obviously a type of insane.
Anchoring the movie is Colin Farrell who has turned into a special
actor. I remember him quite well as someone I would point out as rather bad (or
at least miscast). He was doing these great epic roles (Alexandar, The New
World, Miami Vice) and doing them, frankly, not so well. But then he had a
career turnaround in “In Bruges,” in which he played a down and out suicidal
loser who, quite importantly, had the same accent as his very own Irish brogue.
It was a revelation. His true calling was not as blockbuster hero. It was as a
loser and he has excelled in that role ever since. His turn in “True Detective:
Season 2,” “Seven Psychopaths,” and most importantly this movie prove that he
is at his best playing broken men. Colin Farrell brings a pathos and honest
humor to this character that seems entirely tuned to him. This is his best role
and I would argue an Oscar nomination for it.
Rachel Weisz, as we all know and I hope I have written about before, is
great and a very big movie girlfriend of mine. I wish I could tell you what she
does in this movie without giving away the last half of the movie except to
say, like everything she does, it is perfect. (I never got to rave about her
comedic performance in “The Brothers Bloom” but for fucks sake wasn’t that
revelatory). She’s worthy of a great romantic gesture. I’ve said too much
already.
John C. Reilly rises to the occasion again as a welcome competent face
in a movie totally out there with no money backing it. I’m reminded a little
bit of his work in “Cedar Rapids.” He is a great team player. Also there is Lea
Seydoux playing against type as queen of the loners given she is currently one
of the sexiest women in movies (Blue is the Warmest Color, Mission Impossible).
Then there is Ben Whishaw who is also very good. Everybody in this movie,
amazingly, is very good at playing people who do not resemble humans in a world
that does not resemble reality. It’s great acting drawn from great directing
and writing by Yorgos Lathimos who, as I related before, is probably insane.
Anyway I vote for an Oscar Nomination for Best Original Screenplay, the key
word being Original. Want a cold breath of fresh air in your movie going
experience. Go see “The Lobster.”
