Review of The Lobster (2015) by Ben L — 08 Mar 2017

Do you like movies with metaphors? No, I mean do you REALLY like movies with metaphors? Do you like movies with a weird premise? No, I mean do you like movies with a REALLY weird premise? Do you like emotionless acting like in a Wes Anderson film? No, I mean do you...OK! Enough of that! The point is, if your answer is "Yes" to those questions then The Lobster is the movie for you. The story is about an alternate world where all single people are forced to live in a hotel where they are encouraged to become part of a couple. If they are unsuccessful after a number of days they will be turned into the animal of their choosing. And if you think that's the weird part, you ain't seen nothing yet.

I did not connect with The Lobster on any level. I understand the point they are trying to make, I just didn't care for the way it was delivered. The weirdness of the world might work for me if the people acted even remotely human. Sadly, everyone is pretty much in robot mode and so I don't care about anything they are going through. However the real dilemma for me is that I've never experienced the world that this allegory is representing. I've never dealt with this odd single life where everyone is pressuring you to be in a couple but you can't seem to make a connection with anyone. And I've certainly never dealt with the opposite side, where you have militant single friends who resist coupling at all costs. I understand that is perhaps how the dating world feels to some people, but I can't relate.

As a result, between the extremely odd premise and the fact that I can't relate to the story, I was simply befuddled by The Lobster. It's one of those movies that is either going to click with people or it totally will not, so I expect a lot of love-it or hate-it reactions. I'm somewhat in the middle simply because I can see what the writers were attempting, but there are many moments where I kept wondering "Why?" I think the movie is intended to be funny, perhaps in a dark humor way, but that didn't click with me either. There were a couple of moments that I think might have earned a small chuckle, but most of the way through I found The Lobster depressing. This is a film that I can say with full confidence is not for me.