Deep, funny and haunting. Not for everyone, though

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2019)

The last film by director Yorgos Lanthimos is a unique period comedy that is perhaps the most different film of the year in the Hollywood scene. Lanthimos is not worried about portraying 18th century England with realism.
Instead, he takes a more eccentric and sometimes even absurdist approach on his characters, which reminded me a lot of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, but far less subtle, getting closer to the Coens' darker comedies such as Fargo or a Serious Man.
Lanthimos explores several layers of the human condition, and by dehumanizing his characters in certain ways, and showing us absurd situations as if they are normal, he somehow manages to focus on other human traits with a bit more freedom and depth than he would otherwise be able to.
I think there are several themes explored in this film, the biggest of them being power relations and human desire. The characters are written with such expression and freedom that their desires and ambitions feel so much more alive than usual, as if they are animals who only care about that one thing, and want that so badly that they can't hide it. The plot plays with their desires and how far they are able to go in order to get what they want. We are almost manipulated to connect with the three characters for several reasons, only to be trapped in the moral ambiguity of all the characters we were caring about. This makes the film harder to watch, but a lot more interesting and unpredictable.
The other theme that is dealt with so masterfully throughout the film is power. The way Lanthimos displays the power relations within the characters' relationships is fascinating. He is able to question the very nature of power, and its relationship with the actual utility of it, and the desires that lie underneath. We are always reminded of who is in power at any time, but this always seems to blur into the complexities of the situations, so much that we end up getting confused about what power really means.
The ending says a lot about this power-desire relationship. We are tricked into thinking that the game they are playing is only related to their position in court, and their proximity and influence with the queen. But the ending proves us wrong, and once again displays the ambiguity that lies under all these power games. One more factor suddenly at play: truth. It makes it all most complex, and unexpected since we'd lost all expectations of humanity by these characters. The result is a haunting and intense ending, not easy to grasp at first, but once you let it sink in, it starts making a lot of sense.
I also liked how Lanthimos laughed hard at the face of the place and period he portrayed in this film. All these themes of power and human desire fit like a glove to a political and social satire of the period, and it could't have been more pleasant to watch him make not so subtle jokes and deliver punch lines that cut right through the heart of that particular society.
About the technical achievements of this film, they are all close to perfection. All three actresses do an amazing job, it's hard to say which is best. They share almost the same screen time, and any of them is easily a main character in the film. The cinematography together with art design and costumes show us a haunting 18th century English court, with some detached elements, but some extremely realistic ones. The lighting is superb, and again reminded me a lot of Barry Lyndon, with all the natural light and candles being such an important part of the aesthetics of the film. The music is also haunting and disturbing, and it fits the themes with perfection. It brings intensity to each scene, and is really present in the most pivotal moments. Finally, the editing is also very good, creating some sort of nightmarish pace that enhances the absurdist tone of the film, mixing sounds of different scenes, cutting between thematically converging scenes at times, and keeping the focus on closeups so we can savor the real emotions behind some other scenes.
This film has a comedy style that is hard to grasp at first. We are used to some level of realism and humanity displayed by the characters, and when some absurdist comedy starts wiping the floor before we get to know these characters and before we get used to the tone, it is a lot harder to see where the humor is, or even understand the jokes. Once we get used to it and we buy the idea of this idiosyncratic comedy, we start to really enjoy the dark humor and the tone. Nevertheless, this film is certainly not for everyone, and most audiences will think the it's flat, dull and will not see a single funny moment.
Last thing to say about this film is that it probably demands to be watched more than once, and surely demands to be thought about a lot after each time. This first time left me a bit confused at the ending, with mixed feelings of awe and disappointment. The themes are not on the surface, and the ending is so ambiguous that I could not make sense of it until a thought about it for some hours. This is, in my opinion, what makes this kind of film great.