Saturday, February 11, 2023

Review of The Lobster

Oh blimey this is a weird, mind-blowing one. In a future in which it's not permissible to be single, those without relationships are sent to a special hotel where they have 45 days to partner up, and if they fail they are turned into an animal of their choice. The hotel is presided over by a cruel manager brilliantly played by Olivia Colman, and there are some tropes that wouldn't be out of place in a BDSM-themed porn film - the chambermaids provide perfunctory regular sexual teasing to keep the male "guests" focused on their task of finding a mate, and masturbation is punished with mutiliation of the hand by insertion into a toaster. The acting is weirdly dead-pan, and there are lots of strange details.

Oh, and in the woods there is a community of singles, The Loners, who enforce the state of not being partnered with the same cruelty that the mainstream society punishes singleness. This community is also provided over by a matriach, played by the gorgeous Lea Seydoux. The hotel dwellers hunt the loners with dart guns, and when they catch them they are allowed extra days at the hotel before the ultimate penalty of being turned into an animal is enforced.

There are lots of other weird and horrible details, but really you are going to have to watch this one for yourself...and you should.

Watched on Netflix.

No comments: