The Lobster Review

I remember seeing the trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster back before it hit theaters in 2015. At that time, I was a sixth grader and I had no idea what A24 was, or what the production company would become. Now that some of my all time favorite movies from some of the most famous directors of all time make up the studios filmography, I felt that it was right to go back and finally watch the film. I knew that Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and John C. Riley were all stand out performers that made up the cast, but I was surprised to see Olivia Colman also making an appearance. Her part in the film was just as good as her other work, but it was especially interesting since at the time the film was made she had yet to win her Oscar.

The dystopian society that Lanthimos creates in the film is significantly better than most societies created in the many movies like these from the past few decades. You can tell that it takes place in the near future, and while things are run down and different, the world isn't a complete wasteland. There are plenty of glimpses of life that look familiar to our world, so it didn't take me out of it in that respect. The premise, while odd, felt meaningful overall. There were themes of romanticism and loneliness that felt earned, all on a backdrop of dark comedy that was only a little absurd. It made for plenty moments of good fun, and also for moments when I was genuinely touched. It wasn't anything revolutionary, but you can definitely see where A24 as a whole was beginning to develop their style through some of their early work like this. By the end of the movie, all the box's are checked in terms of what an A24 movie primarily sets out to achieve. It creates a world that we've never seen before, it draws us into unlikely characters that we begin to relate to in an unlikely sort of way, and it ends with something that we need to sit with and think about. While I wasn't invested in these characters as much as I had been with other characters from movies that resonated with me more, I did feel that connection and was perplexed by the way I saw their paths conclude. It did get me thinking for a little while, and while it didn't nag at me for days, it was an interesting watch.

I'm interested to see the rest of Lanthimos's filmography since this is the first of his few films that I have gotten to. I'm expecting some other wacky stories where I find myself connecting to the narrative in a peculiar way. The Lobster definitely wasn't my favorite A24 movie, but it definitely wasn't my least favorite either. I would also argue that it is one of the best ones to use to define the studio as a whole, because it so accurately presents the vibe that every A24 movie seems to stay relatively grounded to. I'd rate this film a 7/10 and I can't wait to see even more from the studio and the Writer Director.