The Lobster (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Scared Deer, The Favorite)
	Actors: Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, Horrible Bosses), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy 1-2, The Fountain), Jessica Barden, John C. Reilly (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ben Wishaw (Skyfall)
	Country: IRL, GB, GR, F, NL
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 21.03.2019, VOD, 32" TV screen
Synopsis: In a society where you get hunted and turned into an animal if you can't find a partner, David (Farrell) has to comply to this rule when his wife leaves him.
Review: The synopsis of the movie should be enough to tempt you to watch it. It was for me, together with the fact that several friends told me how bizarre it was, and that the known cast guaranteed a minimum quality. This was not going a badly done small independent movie that has only its story for him. Colin Farrell is perfect in his role, supported by other good actors that all seem to be victims of the extremist rules. The dialogs and cinematography are also awesome, somewhere between a Darren Aronofsky and a Wes Anderson movie. The story is weird but you quickly get used to it. What you don't get used to is how depressing are the characters and the situation they are stuck in. Stepping back, this movie is of course a hyperbole of the social pressure in the current society on single people to find their soulmate / partner. Reversely, there can be a pressure from one's entourage to get free from a partnership's constrains to get back to the freedom of a life as single. Both side are illustrated in the movie, as when David (spoiler, highlight to read) escapes from his match-making hotel, he ends up with a rebel group of singles who don't allow relationship, under heavy consequences. And both extremes are as exaggerated and ridiculous. It is pathetic how all the wannabe-partners look desperately for a mate with the same characteristic trait: short-sighting, a limp, a nosebleed, ... The curiosity around the movie holds for about three quarters of its length but then withers down. It may have gained from being shortened from this 2-hour version. Still, such a bizarre and refreshing experience.
Rating: 7 /10