The Lobster (2015) -
What on Earth, literally, happened to society for it to become the dystopian world portrayed in this film?
What events lead to the human race becoming so devoid of emotion and so very "Special"? People who were personally invasive and matter of fact, forthright to a fault, quizzical like children and irritating in many ways to watch on screen.
In some ways I felt that the assorted characters behaviour was like the 'Haribo' adverts in which adults are voiced over by children, because the dialogue was so basic and naive, almost innocent and without feeling or heart of any sort. That sort of delivery that 'French & Saunders' (1987-2017) might give whilst playing kids in one of their sketches.
The focus in this odd future was David, played by Colin Farrell had the choice to be turned in to an animal (I assumed that they had started to all become extinct and this was mankind's way of making up for it) or pair up with someone as part of a strange 45 day dating programme in a regimented hotel, almost akin to a mash up of 'Love Island' (2015-), 'Big Brother' (2000-) and an army boot camp.
I had to wonder if the creators of 'Andor' (2022-) had modeled their prison scenes on the hotel shown here, because it was all very robotic and their were punishments to be suffered for infractions of the rules.
I wasn't sure of the message that the creators of the film were trying to express. Was it showing up the world of today, with the pressure on all of us to get married, have kids, etc and with our disregard for other animal life, or was it suggesting a potential future that we might end up living in, because of HOW we are living today, a future where we have to behave so abnormally to make up for our actions in our current present? Without knowing any sort of scientific reason for the depicted change to our world it was hard to tell. Maybe there was no message at all and it was just an excuse for the studio to make something extreme and very, very out there? A way to put ideas on screen that wouldn't normally be seen?
It seemed to be mocking the traditional idea of soulmates and marriage, as it stands today and it suggested that the characters must only pair up with those of a similar situation to their own to an extreme degree - A limping man should try to find a connection with a woman who had a prosthetic leg/A short-sighted Man with a woman who wears contact lenses, that sort of thing, as if that was how relationships would work in this odd future.
It was these strange elements that made me feel there was a bit too much information missing for me to understand how our society had somehow reached this weird future.
In general the film reminded me of those really bizarre weddings that have sometimes been depicted in other films and TV series, because of the hotel set up, meeting strangers in a really awkward fashion and essentially trying to hook up with someone before going home, because you don't want to end up with cousin Greg again, whose been giving you the eye all day.
And the hunting of those who refused to be paired up OR turned in to animals (Loners) felt like a weird stag party activity, that not everyone was that in to. A camping trip, but the best man thought it would be interesting to go the whole weekend without booze and sex, so it's just a trip to the woods, despite the weather.
I also felt that the hunting aspect and the way that the "Loners" lived presented an element of 'The Hunger Games' (2012).
As such, it was all very juxtaposed with too many elements and there were times that I found it to be quite psychotic and inappropriate, with moments of absolute disgusting sickness. Clearly the writers and directors were disturbed and were just trying to find a way to stand out.
I definitely didn't need to see the bits where animals were mistreated. They were shown far more often than necessary, if needed at all.
I did however appreciate the use of the other random animals dotted throughout the background of the shots to show the people that had not managed to find a partner during the 45 day process and the obviously strange choices of animals that they had opted for.
Colin Farrell's role reminded me of Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) from 'Father Ted' (1995-8), because of the strange, childish and comedic way he had to act. Obviously his accent contributed to that too.
Other than that it would be hard to say how well the cast performed, because of their monotone and obscure delivery, but nobody amongst them seemed to stick out as wrong, even the Limping Man played by Ben Whishaw who normally irritates me.
The film clearly made an impression on me, whether for good or for bad because I've had so much to say in this review. I could see that there was a place in the world for it to a degree, but it wasn't a type that I need to see a lot of or regularly. It was definitely an odd, but very interesting concept, but it was also terrifying, cringey and absurd.
569.88/1000.
What on Earth, literally, happened to society for it to become the dystopian world portrayed in this film?
What events lead to the human race becoming so devoid of emotion and so very "Special"? People who were personally invasive and matter of fact, forthright to a fault, quizzical like children and irritating in many ways to watch on screen.
In some ways I felt that the assorted characters behaviour was like the 'Haribo' adverts in which adults are voiced over by children, because the dialogue was so basic and naive, almost innocent and without feeling or heart of any sort. That sort of delivery that 'French & Saunders' (1987-2017) might give whilst playing kids in one of their sketches.
The focus in this odd future was David, played by Colin Farrell had the choice to be turned in to an animal (I assumed that they had started to all become extinct and this was mankind's way of making up for it) or pair up with someone as part of a strange 45 day dating programme in a regimented hotel, almost akin to a mash up of 'Love Island' (2015-), 'Big Brother' (2000-) and an army boot camp.
I had to wonder if the creators of 'Andor' (2022-) had modeled their prison scenes on the hotel shown here, because it was all very robotic and their were punishments to be suffered for infractions of the rules.
I wasn't sure of the message that the creators of the film were trying to express. Was it showing up the world of today, with the pressure on all of us to get married, have kids, etc and with our disregard for other animal life, or was it suggesting a potential future that we might end up living in, because of HOW we are living today, a future where we have to behave so abnormally to make up for our actions in our current present? Without knowing any sort of scientific reason for the depicted change to our world it was hard to tell. Maybe there was no message at all and it was just an excuse for the studio to make something extreme and very, very out there? A way to put ideas on screen that wouldn't normally be seen?
It seemed to be mocking the traditional idea of soulmates and marriage, as it stands today and it suggested that the characters must only pair up with those of a similar situation to their own to an extreme degree - A limping man should try to find a connection with a woman who had a prosthetic leg/A short-sighted Man with a woman who wears contact lenses, that sort of thing, as if that was how relationships would work in this odd future.
It was these strange elements that made me feel there was a bit too much information missing for me to understand how our society had somehow reached this weird future.
In general the film reminded me of those really bizarre weddings that have sometimes been depicted in other films and TV series, because of the hotel set up, meeting strangers in a really awkward fashion and essentially trying to hook up with someone before going home, because you don't want to end up with cousin Greg again, whose been giving you the eye all day.
And the hunting of those who refused to be paired up OR turned in to animals (Loners) felt like a weird stag party activity, that not everyone was that in to. A camping trip, but the best man thought it would be interesting to go the whole weekend without booze and sex, so it's just a trip to the woods, despite the weather.
I also felt that the hunting aspect and the way that the "Loners" lived presented an element of 'The Hunger Games' (2012).
As such, it was all very juxtaposed with too many elements and there were times that I found it to be quite psychotic and inappropriate, with moments of absolute disgusting sickness. Clearly the writers and directors were disturbed and were just trying to find a way to stand out.
I definitely didn't need to see the bits where animals were mistreated. They were shown far more often than necessary, if needed at all.
I did however appreciate the use of the other random animals dotted throughout the background of the shots to show the people that had not managed to find a partner during the 45 day process and the obviously strange choices of animals that they had opted for.
Colin Farrell's role reminded me of Dougal (Ardal O'Hanlon) from 'Father Ted' (1995-8), because of the strange, childish and comedic way he had to act. Obviously his accent contributed to that too.
Other than that it would be hard to say how well the cast performed, because of their monotone and obscure delivery, but nobody amongst them seemed to stick out as wrong, even the Limping Man played by Ben Whishaw who normally irritates me.
The film clearly made an impression on me, whether for good or for bad because I've had so much to say in this review. I could see that there was a place in the world for it to a degree, but it wasn't a type that I need to see a lot of or regularly. It was definitely an odd, but very interesting concept, but it was also terrifying, cringey and absurd.
569.88/1000.