“What’s worse: to die of cold and
hunger in the woods, to become an animal that will be killed and eaten by some
bigger animal, or to have a nosebleed from time to time?”
This is a question posed by The
Limping Man, played by Ben Winshaw, to the main protagonist David, played by
Colin Ferrell in the Indie film The
Lobster. The film itself, written and directed by Greek film maker Yorgos
Lanthimos (Dogtooth), is an odd,
satirical take on relationships, and is summed up perfectly by the question
posed by The Limping Man. It’s weird, it doesn’t quite make sense, yet it’s
truthful to how we should view courtship and love.
In the film, all adults must be
in a committed relationship, and if you’re not, you are sent to a hotel where
you have 45 days to find a mate. If you fail to do so, you get turned into an
animal of your choice. Some people refuse this model, and live as loners in the
woods, only to be hunted by the people in the hotel in an attempt to earn extra
days staying at the hotel. Desperate to find a mate, The Limping Man gives
himself nosebleeds in order to connect to a young woman who naturally gets
nosebleeds often. Based upon this physical attribute, the two are set up as a
match to be paired together forever. When questioned about his lie by David,
The Limping Man gives the aforementioned response.
The
Lobster is not
an easy watch. Every character talks like they’re acting bad on purpose and the
slower pacing and nonsensical nature of this world Yorgos Lanthimos created I
imagine would be daunting to most. Even as a lover of film I was tempted to
bash it while watching it. It’s not a terribly pleasant viewing experience.
Yet, the more I sit with it and think about, the happier I am that I saw the
film. I enjoyed the points Lanthimos was making and the way he made them. While
I could get bogged down in the details- like how a hotel designed to pair
people couple together in 45 days would look nothing like the hotel seen in the
film- it would mean that I am missing the forest for the trees. The point of The Lobster is not necessarily to tell a
coherent short-form story, its purpose is to point out the absurdities of
societal norms and constructs we have regarding dating and relationships.
The
Lobster ends up
also being a great showcase for Colin Ferrell. After beginning his career being
pigeon-holed as a traditional leading man by Hollywood (see: SWAT, The Recruit, Alexander)
after decent turns as the antagonist in major motion-pictures (Daredevil, Minority Report), Ferrell has redefined the second half of his career
in a wonderful way. After teaming up with writer/director Martin McDonagh in
2008’s In Bruges (and later again in
2012’s Seven Psychopaths), Ferrell
showed the world that he’s not your traditional leading man. Ferrell works best
when he can act oft-kilter or when he’s playing second fiddle. His unique turn
in even a big budget project like Horrible
Bosses helped prove that Colin Ferrell is a great character actor stuck in
a leading man’s body. Ferrell even took some of his looks from his Horrible Bosses character (mainly the
gut) to play his role as David in The
Lobster. Ferrell carries the film like he can, but between this and In Bruges, Ferrell is telling the world
that if you want me to be great in your movie, you need to make it delightfully
weird.