The Lobster (2015) review

I remember seeing the beginning of this a while back and thinking, what the fuck is this? There's a scene where John C. Reilly's character is forced to stick his hand in a toaster as punishment for masturbating in his hotel room. I think I stopped watching after that point. When I rewatched I thought it was hysterical (not in a sadistic way - I turn the volume down) but in an absurd, ironic way because it's so odd and in another scene, it's shown that it is mandatory for the maid to lift up her skirt and grind her backside against the male occupants groin and see how long it takes for the man to get an erection. Also anything John C. Reilly does is hilarious.

The director was on Marc Maron's podcast last week and Netflix had this so I thought I'd give it a 2nd chance. I can't remember the last time I saw a film that I would describe as disturbing, hilarious, and romantic -maybe "Donnie Darko" was the last time.

Colin Farrell plays David in some kind of alternate world where single people are forced to stay at hotel for 45 days and find a mate - otherwise they get turned into an animal of their choice. Many strange things happen during his stay, then he escapes and in the 2nd act of the film he's with a group of outsiders who wish to remain single and punish anyone in their group who tries to be in a relationship. He and Rachel Weisz (she doesn't have a name and is credited as "shortsighted woman") fall in love but have to keep their feelings hidden from the group.

This is another type of film that could be analyzed and intellectualized to death and I made a point of not reading any explanations on the internet. I don't really care. The message of the film is surprisingly not that confusing. That makes me like the film even more because it's not like a David Lynch film where it's entirely open to interpretation and college film professors come up with ridiculous meanings that were never really intended anyway.

The very end of the film could have been handled a little better but this is a weird movie so I didn't expect a "normal" Hollywood ending. It's messed up but you'll be thinking about this movie long after watching it. This movie is not for everyone and I can understand why some people would hate it or find it pretentious. I like it but it could have easily been bad or, with its dry humor and irony, too Wes Anderson-esque. For me it was highly original and enjoyable.