Until last year, I had not seen one of Lathimos’ movies. I did not know what I was missing. In a bitter irony, several of his movies were on my lengthy to-watch list. I finally got around to The Lobster after Lanthimos was briefly in the news last year when his frequent collaborator, actress Emma Stone, who was about to win the Best Actress Oscar for her third collaboration with the director, called him her muse. I have only seen the two Lanthimos films I included here, but I think Stone is onto something. His work is such that Muse feels like a good word; “mad” is another. Has anyone called him “The Mad Greek” yet? If not, let me be the first. I mean it affectionately and respectfully. In little ways, his work reminded me of fellow directors and innovators Pedro Almodóvar and Lars Von Trier. The movies below, one of which I admire but find flawed and the other on my long list for best of the year, demonstrate Lanthimos style and talents.
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The Lobster
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The Lobster is not your typical Hollywood fare. If you don’t know the premise, the opening scene is a full-on WTF?! moment. For reasons not stated, being single is not socially acceptable in the future where the movie is set. To such a degree that if you find yourself single, like protagonist Joe (Colin Farrell), whose wife has recently left him for another man, you have 45 days to get a new mate or be turned into an animal. Guess what Joe will be turned into? (Hint: see movie title). Newly single Joe is promptly shuffled off to a hotel, which doubles as what I am calling hook-up rehab, where his 45-day countdown begins. Director Yorgos Lanthimos and his co-writer Ethimis Filippou have created a delightful, humorous, and timely premise. The Lobster should prompt thoughts on the nature of romantic relationships, which was in flux in 2015 when the movie was made and continues to be so here in 2022. It has been promoted as a black comedy. In a soundbite society, it is a box the movie could fit in. There were moments of gentle humour that made me smile, but I never laughed. I think its ambitions go deeper than humour. The filmmakers take the premise seriously, and the viewer is also expected to. The tone and look reminded me more of the social conscience movies of the 60s, like Fahrenheit 451, than the cheesy 50s sci-fi ones its premise suggests. The world herein is dystopian in such an understated way it goes largely unacknowledged. I see The Lobster as a somewhat depressing commentary about where we might be headed, in spirit, if not in fact. That it starts with a fanciful premise is the sugar that makes the medicine go down. Joe spends enough time in hook-up rehab to give us a clear view of what is “normal” in this society. Eccentric is a polite word for it. Part of why I didn’t laugh was that the actors play it so seriously; they rarely even crack a smile. When they do, like Oliva Coleman as the hook-up rehab facilitator, it is not the kind of warm smile that invites a laugh. If possible, things get weirder when Joe escapes and joins a roving band of outlaw singles. Part of the weirdness of this roving band of singles who live off the land and hide in the woods, rarely venturing into cities, is that they are a silent society. I found it telling that the most vigorous resistance is portrayed in silence. Joe forms an attachment to a woman played by Rachel Weisz, who gives a delightful performance. In another movie, this might be the romantic, happy ending Joe was looking for initially. Here, the second act affirms that the script is more than a clever premise. It is delightful to watch as at no point do the writers take the road most travelled. Where the script went didn’t overly surprise me, but getting there was always interesting. The journey is aided considerably by a stellar cast. Among the stacked supporting cast are Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, Lèa Seydoux and more. There is not a lame performance in the bunch. I enjoyed The Lobster as it hummed along. When it became clear the ending was imminent, I did wonder if the script, which I was sure wanted to say something, had said anything. After the movie concluded, I went back and forth on this point. In the end, I concluded that it did say something. Part of my back and forth was that I disliked the ending. This is not to say it is bad or unfitting, only that I did not enjoy it. I concluded that my dislike for the statement I think the movie made influenced my acknowledgment of that statement. Another layer of complexity is that I wonder if this is meant to be viewed as a statement movie at all. Filippou and Lanthimos observe some things about the human condition, but I do not see an inclination to comment on those observations. Did I see something that was not there? I don’t think so, which is my final disappointment with The Lobster. With this premise and this cast, it could have been a masterpiece if pushed. I did not feel the drive or passion that makes a good film great. Instead, it is an engaging and entertaining movie, which is not all it might have been. It won’t be for everyone, but if you are looking for something fresh, it is that. One word of advice: Don’t try to make sense of it; go with it.
Where to watch
Streaming on Amazon Prime. Rent from the usual suspects: Amazon, Apple, and YouTube.
Thoughts? Feel free to weigh in!
The Favourite
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The Favourite is a piece of pure craftsmanship that stands out as a triumph among movies about the Machiavellian sniping of European courts. Olivia Coleman stars as Queen Anne. Queen Anne is one of three central characters, but as the person everyone is vying to have the favour of, it is arguably the essential role. Coleman, a down-to-earth actress I have loved watching since the original Broadchurch TV show, gives an astonishing performance. Initially, I wondered if her tonal choices would force her performance over the top as her character faces increasing distress. The performance teeters on the knife edge of screeching parody yet never falls. With the help of a great script, Coleman reveals many layers to Queen Anne. Not only did I empathize with the tragic Queen, my heart broke for her. As this movie tells it, Anne, the nominal head of state of England, is a figurehead for her much smarter and craftier best (and only) friend, Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz). Hers is the second central role. Weisz gives an excellent performance, but Coleman is so good that you only notice how good she is when Coleman is offscreen. Lady Sarah caresses and cajoles the Queen to do her bidding. Anne is a lonely, broken woman who faithfully acquiesces, notwithstanding the occasional petty tantrum. The third central character, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), enters and upsets the balance between the two women. Stone is superb here, fulfilling the promise of the Oscar she unjustly won for La La Land. Stone genuinely kept me guessing about Hill’s motivation to the very end. Ms. Hill, due to her father’s bankruptcy and subsequent suicide, has been reduced from Noblewoman to serf. She has come to the Queen’s court to ask her distant cousin, Lady Sarah, for a job. She gets one as a scullery maid, which, after a literal shitty introduction to the court, is not much of an improvement. Abigail is not satisfied with staying in her reduced station, and when a chance comes to aid the Queen, she sidesteps propriety and several rungs of authority to take her shot at being noticed. Lady Sarah does take notice. Admiring Sarah’s ambition, guts and smarts, she promotes Abigail to be her lady's maid. It is a big step up. One that allows her to roam the halls with some freedom dress like a lady, and have access to power. Abigail’s newfound access leads her to a startling and valuable/dangerous discovery. Part of Sarah’s hold on the widowed Queen is that they maintain a secret sexual relationship. If you don’t know your history, this was a big no-no at this time, even for a Queen. Young Abigail uses the information of the Queen’s peccadillo to her advantage and further moves up the ladder towards restoring herself to her former station. Too late, Lady Sarah sees what is going on. She tries to fire Abigail, only for the Queen to inform her that she has taken Abigail on as her bedchamber maid, bluntly telling Lady Sarah, “I like it when she puts her tongue inside me.” This line is sharply delivered, but its utterance is part of what sets The Favourite apart from so many movies like it. Sumptuous and elegant, it is also piercingly honest. Honesty is one of its geniuses. Another is that it flips the traditional narrative position of women and men in historical dramas. The men in the picture are completely sidelined. Not negatively, just de facto, the way female characters are typically treated in historical dramas. Despite this, the male characters do not feel like caricatures, and all the actors give excellent performances. Nicholas Hoult is particularly notable as Robert Harley, the leader of the opposition and main political rival to Lady Sarah. I would have liked to see more of Joe Alwyn, who is delightful as Abigail’s love interest Colonel Masham. He and Stone are pitch-perfect in a scene demonstrating the male-female role reversal. It also highlights the delightfully droll comedic tone the movie has. Having successfully schemed her way to a good marriage (to Colonel Masham), Abigail is too distracted by how Lady Sarah may respond to be interested in consummating the relationship on her wedding night, much to the chagrin of her new husband. When informed by him: “I’m hard as a rock over here” with a whiny, “It is my wedding night.” added the now “Lady” Abigail absentmindedly strokes him to gratification. The scene demonstrates how director Yorgos Lanthimos routinely treats sex in the movie. There is a fair bit of sex, and it is often treated in the same offhand manner. Far more attention is given to the scenes that highlight the casual debauchery of the rich in this time of want and war. Such scenes provide much of the comedy, whether watching the rich participate in duck racing or a sort of nude dodgeball with food. Lanthimos has a flair for the odd and the dramatic, as the strange, horrific beauty of these two scenes demonstrate. Another example is the delightful dance scenes, which could have looked silly or awkward in lesser hands. Instead, these scenes, which bear little resemblance to traditional period dancing, have a magical quality. The craftsmanship of the entire film is impeccable. The majority of shots use wide-angle and fish-eye lenses. Particularly, the latter gives the movie a unique look and adds a hint of surreality. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan never allows these unique perspectives, which the human eye cannot replicate, to distract or disorientate. The dazzling work of Set Designer Fiona Crombie and Costume Designer Sandy Powell helps ground the look firmly in reality. Topping it all off is a film soundtrack that is a piece of art unto itself and in complete service to individual scenes. There is no composer; instead, Sound Designer Johnnie Burn used works of composers ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. In making a score so interesting without having it become distracting, he has outdone himself. Lanthimos, who is an absolute talent as a director, pulls everything together with nothing short of aplomb, demonstrating throughout that he is as much an artist as a craftsman. There are multiple layers to the motives and interactions of each character. Whenever you think you have a handle on a person and their motive, another layer gets peeled away. I point again to the dancing sequences, easily the most interesting and well-shot since West Side Story (2021). Like in that movie, these scenes are more than just creative and flawlessly crafted. They are commentary and art, pushing the story and themes of the movie further. Scenes like these prove that movies are an art form, and movies like this prove that movies can be both artistic and entertaining.
Where to watch
Streaming on Disney+. Rent from the usual suspects: Amazon, Apple, and YouTube.
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Next up for me is Lanthimos’ Poor Things (streaming on Disney+). I can’t “officially” recommend a movie I haven’t seen, but my expectations are sky-high after watching The Lobster and The Favourite. I am excited about the film and to see Stone earn her Oscar. I loved La La Land (🦛🦛🦛🦛), but Stone's performance could not compare to fellow nominee Isabelle Huppert’s devastating performance in Elle (🦛🦛🦛) (streaming on Amazon Prime).