If you think this weird film is from A24, it's not. 2015's The Lobster is an absurd and sometimes disturbing dystopian movie. You may recognize some popular actors here that you have seen in other flicks.
If I were to define this film, I would say it's pretty underrated.
Plot Overview
The Lobster begins when an adult short-sighted man named David is escorted to a hotel after his wife left him for another. The hotel manager informs him that he has 45 days to find a partner; otherwise, he will be turned into an animal of his choice. David is accompanied by his dog, which is also his brother, Bob. He decides he wants to be a lobster. He is joined by other members, Robert, a lisp, and John, a limp. The hotel guests are keen on finding a partner by looking for others who share the same traits as them.
The hotel has very strict rules. The guests are not allowed to pleasure themselves and must attend propaganda videos about the beauty of partnership. The maids conduct routine sexual stimulation to the guests to increase their drive. They also participate in hunting games where they find and capture loners in the forest. Each captured victim will increase their deadline by a day. In one event, a woman approached David and offered him sexual pleasure, but he declined.
David goes on to court a cruel woman who tranquilizes more loners than anybody else. The woman who approached him jumped from the window, and he pretended to enjoy it to win her affection. They successfully become a couple, but things don't go as planned when she discovers that David experiences emotions and decides to kill his brother, the dog. She hopes to report him to the hotel manager, but David manages to escape with the help of a maid.
As David wanders around the dense forest, he meets and joins the loners. They formed a pack that had different rules than the hotel but had similar strictness. He begins a forbidden relationship with a woman with the same physical qualities as him.
Review
The Lobster brought in the talents of Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, and many more.
The film has a subtle vibe that feels like it's done without much care. The color combinations are pale, like the dystopian world the characters live in. They combined it with a simple musical score, which makes it simpler.
The Lobster has a weird plot. It is divided into two parts: the first, when David is at the hotel, and the second, after he escaped. Both have the same structure and flow that you will not get lost throughout its almost 2-hour runtime.
Overall, I was not blown away by the story and the acting. It doesn't stick out like other classics, and the overall feel is just plain okay.
A good 3 out of 5 stars.