More absurd than necessary

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2018)

The Lobster is a very difficult movie to assess. Its premise is so ridiculous and absurd that it's bound to be a divisive movie that isn't for everyone. The first half in particular is a difficult sit through, as due to their absurdity, many story elements seem completely random at first. It's only halfway through that things seem to click together, and an impressively cohesive story emerges. I'm actually so impressed with the underlying story, that I believe this would have made a terrific science fiction movie if played a little more seriously.
It is basically a movie about a dystopian future in which people are forced to become married or run the risk of being turned into an animal, or being hunted if trying to avoid this outcome. There are some very interesting reflections on the pressures of society to find a partner and the superficial ways that people get together and pretend to be someone else in order to avoid ending up alone. Interestingly, the fugitive group of loners is equally as radical in their approach, forcing their members to stay alone and punishing them for showing any type of romantic affection towards another. I see this broadly as a remark on society in general, in which there are extremists on both ends of the political spectrum, each hating the other, but neither one being particularly desirable from a neutral point of view. Like always, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
I found myself being thoroughly engaged in these ideas, but at times were taken out of it by the absurdist nature of many of the scenes. The deadpan and deliberately wooden acting is quirky and interesting at first, but grows tiresome rather quickly, and the dialogue seemed very scripted and unnatural (as it was intended). I also personally didn't think it was as funny as the writers hoped I would think, being left confused and frustrated at some scenes rather than laughing at them.
I'm sure many will disagree, and believe the absurdity is at the core of the film and the movie wouldn't have worked without it. Indeed, it might have run the risk of being a little more run-of-the-mill if played more seriously and left in less capable hands. However, the underlying ideas were so strong that I really don't think it needed the excessive absurdity. I believe this might be a case of the writers underestimating the quality of their screenplay and throwing in some quirky things to make it seem a bit more alternative and anti-mainstream than it needed to be. Even the central concept of turning into an animal if failing to find a partner within 45 days was superfluous to the main story. The movie would have worked just as well if a different type of punishment was presented. Or at least it could have been given a bit more prominence. The fact that the animals that are walking around were once humans is being mentioned in a throwaway line or two, but never really fully explored.
I'm not saying it should have been a full on dark and gritty science-fiction drama. It could have retained its satirical outlook, which suits the story quite well. It just went a little overboard with trying to seem as weird and quirky as possible, which is a shame as The Lobster is now mainly being remembered as 'that weird movie in which humans turn into animals', even though there's so much more to this great story.