The Lobster

[dalliance]

Has anyone seen this bizarre art-house oddity?

The basic premise is that single people are sent to The Hotel and have 45 days to find a partner or they're transformed into animals and released into the woods.

Actually that doesn't even begin to touch upon a plot full of abstract absurdities - imagine the tv show Lost If it were created by Charlie Kaufman with just as little regard for resolving the many red herrings it throws up.

It's got a stellar cast that includes Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C.Reilly and Olivia Colman and it looks lovely, but by christ is it frustrating, self-indulgent and ultimately incredibly tedious stuff.

The undoubted inspiration for the Colin Farrell character in both intellect and delivery is Father Dougal McGuire - I kid you not. I was just waiting for him to say 'So what's going on in this film then Ted?'

Avoid like the plague.

[RobW]

The Lobster

No, you're wrong, it's fucking great. The first half set in the hotel is better than the second (partly because Olivia Coleman is so good). Really dry, black humour superbly executed. In fact I must see Lanthimos' 'Dogtooth' which i'm told is even better.

[dalliance]

The Lobster

The first half was bearable and had some very dry and very black humour, but it was in no way strong enough to sustain the second half of the film which was a shambolic, meandering mess.

[Fussbudget]

The Lobster

dalliance wrote: It's got a stellar cast that includes Colin Farrell

[Felicity, I guess so]

The Lobster

I agree with dalliance about the meanderings of the 2nd half. Plus, if the darkly comic dystopian premise is to hold, the way they go into the city and then out again, have 'normal' family relationships there...what is the hiding in the woods for then?

Dogtooth is amazing and all the better for its claustrophobic microcosmic setting, compared to Lobster. After Dogtooth, the name 'Bruce' will never be the same again.

[Ginger Yellow]

The Lobster

I think I actually enjoyed the second half more, though it was probably a little too long. I loved their ridiculously unsubtle code. I like the way the way the loner camp became as much of a prison as the hotel, and the way they were still bound by the arbitrary rules of the society (I can't love you any more, you don't share my defining characteristic). I loved the random animals wandering through shots. I loved the forced attempts to act "normal".

[meregreen]

The Lobster

Didn't know when I watched this that it was by the same director as Dogtooth, but both me and my wife thought it reminded us of that film. Lobster's not as tense or as disconcerting as Dogtooth, which lingered with me for days afterwards, and it's relatively straightforward in terms of its plot. Nonetheless, I found it quite compelling and amusing and although it did flag once they left the hotel, it sustained my interest until the end. Didn't especially like the ambiguity of the ending, but that's a minor gripe after the surreal experience that had preceded it.

[Stumpy Pepys]

The Lobster

Agree with the above--it's overlong and the second half drags, but, if you buy into its absurdist logic, some of it is very good indeed and laugh-out-loud funny. One of my favourite Colin Farrell performances.

I'd recommend waiting until it appears on DVD or streaming.

[RobW]

The Lobster

Stumpy Pepys wrote: Agree with the above--it's overlong and the second half drags, but, if you buy into its absurdist logic, some of it is very good indeed and laugh-out-loud funny. One of my favourite Colin Farrell performances.

I'd recommend waiting until it appears on DVD or streaming.

It's available on Netflix now.

[Patrick Thistle]

The Lobster

I've just watched this on Netflix.

Me and Mrs Thistle enjoyed it a lot, with quite a few chuckles at the black comedy, right up until the scene with the psycho woman and the dog. After that we both felt it went sick and dark and we didn't enjoy it much. Although the scene where his friend catches him in the woods was quite funny. Ben Whishaw was great. I spent the film trying to remember who he was.