ONCE UPON A TIME WHEN LONELINESS WAS A SIN
2:03 PM
“The
Lobster” is a palate cleanser in a world of neatly developed sci-fi and
underwhelming love stories. The story of a world where singletons are sent to a
hotel where they need to find a mate in a specified time period or be turned
into a beast of their choosing is refreshing in its utter disregard for
emotions. Colin Farrell’s pot-bellied David is a dead-pan tour de force whose tragicomic everyday snippets of the life in the
hotel breathe life into the otherwise inconceivably strange world. The humour
with which the ironic jokes about the ridiculousness of their world are
delivered is so incredibly pitch black that you almost feel embarrassed for laughing
at them. Nevertheless, there is a sense
of utter sadness trickling through the impenetrably emotionless facade. To many,
middle-aged dating might seem to be a similarly dismal “life or death”
situation as it is for the cast of “The Lobster”. Thus, even though the characters
make themselves have the emotional range of a stone statue, the film still
manages to reflect on the vulnerability hidden deep in the human psyche.
The little
flights of fancy in the form of haphazardly placed flamingos and peacocks offer
absurdist relief. Despite that, “The Lobster” is no Dali – the surreal
embellishments are all tightly bound to the plot and never take flight on their
own. Nevertheless, “The Lobster” is film like no other which offers a refreshingly
novel mix of sci-fiesque romantic satire. The blend of different genres might
not necessarily work for viewers with expectations which fit into certain genre
conventions, as it is placed uncomfortably between traditional tropes.
Similarly, the ending – though one might say genius in how it creates tension –
can also be interpreted to fall into the trap frequented by several immensely original
indie films. After spending a lot of time and effort in building and justifying
the existence of the world on show, it’s struggling to tie up all the complexities
of its own storyline. Where do you go after achieving your aim of explaining
your existence? It seems “The Lobster” has not answer and just leaves it at
that – literally. Whether that is a bout of genius or just plain lazy, is up for
you to decide.
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