Not everything that gets talked about here is action schlock. Some of it is more artsy.
The Lobster
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Cast: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, Ben Whishaw, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ewen MacIntosh
I do my best not to spoil things here, and that’s particularly true of a movie like The Lobster, because so much of the enjoyment comes from discovering how its world operates as the story progresses. There are no title cards at the beginning like Red Dawn to explain how we got here, you just figure it out on the fly.
What I can tell you, because it’s in the trailer, is that The Lobster is the story of a man who goes to a special resort to find a mate, and if he’s unsuccessful in that he will be turned into an animal he has previously chosen. In the case of our protagonist, he has chosen to be a lobster should it come to that.
I will also tell you that the world of The Lobster is one of rigidity and harsh consequences, and it is this area in particular where the movie so deftly commentates on our own society in terms of the nature of relationships.
Tonally, the movie is a dark comedy, and a rather funny one at that. Colin Farrell turns in a delightfully awkward performance, John C. Reilly is his naturally humorous self, and Rachel Weisz delivers some absolutely absurd voice-overs completely straight, which is hilarious.
It’s a bit of a long, strange trip, and it may not end the way you like, but it’s one worth taking. Check out The Lobster if you’re up for something off the beaten path.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)
High-Rise
Directed by Ben Wheatley
Written by Amy Jump, based on the novel by J.G. Ballard
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Reece Shearsmith, Enzo Cilenti, Sara Dee (voice)
Soundtrack: Clint Mansell
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde
No doubt, High-Rise aspires to be great, but it’s no Brazil. Heck, it’s not even Snowpiercer.
Based on the novel by J.G. Ballard (which was, perhaps correctly, considered “unfilmable” for nearly four decades), High-Rise is chock-full of British classism, Seventies excess, and tons of actual garbage. Not having read the source material, I can’t tell you if the adaptation is too faithful, not faithful enough, or somewhere in between, but it does feel like it’s in a no-man’s-land of sort.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what High-Rise is missing, but it’s not thought-provoking enough, shocking enough, funny enough, or horrifying enough to make the impact it desires. At a certain point it becomes a bit meandering, but the core story is so simple that you never really lose track of who’s doing what and why. Perhaps it’s the fact that we’re not given anyone to truly invest in that makes High-Rise so muddled.
However, one thing I’ll give a lot of credit for is the production design. Rather than taking place in an uber-futuristic dystopia, High-Rise is set in a dystopian vision of the 1970s, which means lots and lots of period cars, costumes, hair, and carpeting. in addition to more fantastical elements like an 18th century costume party.
If you’re a hardcore fan of Ben Whealey’s films or J.G. Ballard’s books, then you’ll probably see it anyway, but, save for that, High-Rise is probably not worth your time.
Rating: ★★½ (out of five)