Social criticism can be found in many movies both in explicit and implicit ways. Those kinds of movies show various flaws of both society and individuals in artistic ways to provide a deep understanding of the problems we face and how to overcome them or if we can overcome them. Today’s pick is one of the finest examples of such movies.
The Lobster is a drama movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Colin Farrell. It tells the story of a man being taken to The Hotel, where he has to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or he will be transformed into an animal just like all the other lonely people in this dystopian society.
First of all, the story itself is quite creative with its unique version of a dystopian society, where single people are literally treated as inferior people. Additionally, the storytelling further elevates the uniqueness of the story with an unusual but profound screenplay. As I said earlier, this film is an example of social criticism, which can be understood with its characters’ actions and their consequences. In this way, the movie builds its crucial components, namely the characters and the story, as allegories for one of the most fundamental flaws of society, which is the perception of love. Markedly, the movie presents us with two vastly different social groups, couples and loners. Couples are seen as the superior part of society because they comply with the absurd obligation that they have to be with someone or they will be punished harshly. On the other hand, loners are seen as the inferior people of the society, they’re seen as lesser human beings because they don’t abide by society’s norms and stay alone. However, fundamentally, both groups have their own ridiculous sets of rules that members have to stick to, which suggests that no matter how dissimilar people are, they always tend to follow a certain set of rules and adhere to the humans’ pathological need for a system no matter how preposterous it may be. These harsh realities of human nature and society are depicted masterfully with perfectly-fitting deadpan acting performances and scenes, even though they’re sometimes too long.
Secondly, I think that this movie has a simple but suitable cinematography that is fantastically combined with its really good choice of soundtrack, howbeit, I must say that the music sometimes becomes annoyingly repetitive.
To summarize, I can say that The Lobster is an excellent movie with an unprecedented story, superb storytelling, and intriguing characters. Even though it has its minor flaws such as a few scenes going on a bit too long and some soundtrack pieces playing repetitively, The Lobster is a terrific movie that I’d wholeheartedly recommend.
RATING: 9/10