Review of The Lobster (2015) by Clarisesamuels — 22 Oct 2016

An attempt at a latter-day Theatre of the Absurd, this screenplay does not have the intellectual charm of a Samuel Beckett or Eugene Ionesco, or even for that matter, an Arthur Schnitzler. But with Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, and Ben Whishaw on board, there is certainly no shortage of talent in this production. The basic premise is a dystopian state that does not allow people to be single. If you ever noted on a Saturday night that our society is a couples’ world, this film takes that observation over the top and into the realm of science fiction, where it may actually qualify for the mild horror genre.

At first the viewer will be intrigued by the drama of a basic dilemma—if you don’t find the perfect match at the hotel to which you are sent, then you will be transformed into the animal of your choice. The film’s protagonist David (Colin Farrell) says he wants to be a lobster if he doesn’t meet his match. A match entails finding someone with whom you share a salient characteristic such as nearsightedness, cold-heartedness, or even a medical condition such as constant nosebleeds. David fakes cold-heartedness to match up with someone he doesn’t care about and is found out. The punishment is severe, so he escapes this sick version of a honeymoon hotel and becomes a “loner,” part of a group of renegades who lives by their wits in the woods. Their leader (Léa Seydoux) is just as bizarre as the Fascist dictators she has rejected. Loners are prohibited from forming relationships with each other, and because they are constantly being hunted, they all have to dig their own grave so as not to inconvenience the others when they are killed.

For most of the film, there is a heavy emphasis on conversation rather than action. Because living in an emotionally suppressed society makes for insipid conversation, these people drone on relentlessly about uneventful trivia. The characters are robotic citizens who talk slowly, react slowly, and are too boring.

David finally finds some meaning in life when he falls in love with an equally nearsighted loner (Rachel Weisz). Thus, the second half of the film is about the dilemma of two loners illegally caught in a romance and the drastic measures to which they resort to escape their fate. The background music is a squeaky violin meant to underline the already unsubtle message of the film—romance has turned into something grim, tawdry, and unrecognizable in this fictional universe. Even true love, rare though it may be, in this context is merely another outlandish and depressing proposition. There is no redemption to be found here, no ray of hope, and the pervasive hopelessness unfortunately tries the viewer’s patience to its limits.