'Blu-ray or Bust' - THE LOBSTER

'Blu-ray or Bust'

THE LOBSTER (2016, R, 118 minutes, FILM 4/IRISH FILMBOARD/A24/CANAL +)

When I was a teenager, I identified with “Charlie” from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. He was quiet, reserved, didn’t have a whole lot of friends, but held close to the ones he had. He was a tragically triumphant character. He survived, and that compelled me, and gave me hope for surviving my own life.

And now I come across “David”, a man who after his wife leaves him for another man, finds himself swept away by a system that requires you to have a companion. Shipped off to a hotel, he has forty-five days to find love, or he gets turned into an animal of his choosing—hence, the title of the film. This remarkable adult fable feels like a Wes Anderson film; the situation is made plausible by the characters making their way through the story, and their reactions are absurdly perfect and identifiable.

Playing upon the typical social trappings of dating and relationships, David, whose only companion is his brother—who was turned into a dog on his prior stay at the hotel, finds himself at the mercy of the workings of the hotel. Said “workings” thrust him into his search for love with lessons played out on a stage by the hotel staff for the guests, social dances, and erection checks by the maid every morning. Yeah, I just said that.

But that is the charm (and occasional honest brutality) of the film created by writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos (DOGTOOTH, ALPS). Every emotion, from disassociation to love to devotion to fear and sadness, is laid bare. Sometimes comically. And at others, with a brusque shot of harsh reality. It is an allegory, it is an adult fairy tale, it is a terribly lovely look at love.

Colin Farrell (IN BRUGES, TOTAL RECALL) proves himself again to be the best actor to come out of Ireland in my lifetime. He captures David’s desire, his need, to find companionship with a devotion to the craft that proves his artistry; from his facial expressions to his halting speech, and his ways of trying to adapt to the person he is attempting to court. He will capture your heart, whether you want him to or not. Rachel Weisz (THE MUMMY, CONSTANTINE) narrates, and plays a character known only as “Short Sighted Woman” in the credits. But she is the other hidden heart of this film, capturing the emotion we would all rather not name at one point or other. Whereas many people jump straight into love, her namelessness remains a constant reminder that if love is not cautious, if it is not self-aware, it can be just as dangerous as that faithful leap from a cliff’s edge. There is water down there somewhere, but can you really trust that jump? There could be rocks at the bottom…

As this was filmed entirely in Ireland, this is a must on Blu-ray. The lush and lonely forests, the winding mountain roads; this is a movie in which the perfect settings are used, and it only accentuates the story and the characters inhabiting it. There is one “making of” documentary, a twenty-minute method-to-the-madness piece which shows you just how involved everyone was in this story, and how much trust they put into each other and Lanthimos.

So, yeah; now I identify with a hopeless romantic named “David”. Charlie from “Perks” gave me hope at surviving life, and David gives me hope at surviving love. If only I’d found David at the same time that I’d found Charlie…

And as much as I identify with him, I think I’d rather be a monkey than a lobster. Not many people eat monkeys.

Grade: A

Special Features: B

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely