The pioneer of the Greek Weird Wave, Yorgos Lanthimos is no stranger to peculiar and bizarre stories as seen in his films like Dogtooth and Alps (See video). His new film The Lobster, is set in a dystopian near future where according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and outcasted into the woods (Damn, dating is hard!). In all of Lanthimos' films, there is a powerful and relevant underlining theme of societal conventions. In The Lobster, the traditional societal norms of marriage and partnership is taken to an extreme to tell a very relevant and humane story about us all.
The Lobster premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and it won the Jury Prize award! This is Lanthimos' fifth feature but first film in English so of course, he got the most stellar cast consisting of Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman, John C. Reilly, Lêa Seydoux, and Ben Whishaw. I wasn't so sure how Farrell would fit into the peculiar realm of Lanthimos' stories but add in a couple of pounds, a mustache, and an ultra dead-pan attitude and you got a Farrell worth watching! Hopefully they get it to the U.S. ASAP!
