Review of The Lobster (2015) by Shane S — 13 Dec 2017

Imaginative and strange. A dissociating study into human relationships, and the peculiar societal pressures we create around a basic building block of society.

The Lobster is a film set in an alternate world where the consequences of not achieving socially accepted relationship status can be dire. The film is very strange, and may not appeal to everyone for that reason. The performances are generally well done, Colin Ferrell does a solid job as the lead. Rachel Weisz is also believable and sympathetic. Angeliki Papoulia does an excellent job as the "heartless woman".

The film is a study about the incredibly silly ways we classify and interact with one another socially. The delivery is well over the top, but it is delivered against a somber serious background that keeps the message of the film on track. The fantasy world never fully swallows the grounded message of the film.

Everyone in the story is often referred to by reference to shallow physical traits or minor social quirks. These identifiers become the only permissible basis for embarking on a relationship with someone else. This insanity regarding the regimented senseless way relationships are constructed is presented nicely against the equally absurd "singles" camp. In the quest to maintain the purity of singleness, the outcasts, who do not choose mates, end up in an equally insane loneliness. The singles adhere to an oppressive set of rituals designed to ensure no one interacts or partners up. Ironically both the singles and the couples bizarre series of rituals and rules rob them both of any authentic notion of person-hood. There is no virtue in either extreme of existence. Being alone or being together is an imperfect existence. Neither state can adhere to any ideal vision, despite a repressive social structure that tries to make them ideal. We get a fascinating window into how our own society's obsession with ideal relationships or existence robs anyone of anything real.