A visual concept should not be confused with quality or originality

Rating: 5/10 (12 June 2019)

--The Lobster is pretty aesthetically pleasing. But that is it's strongest point. The atmosphere is heavy, unpleasant, reminiscent of Dogtooth with it's long shots where few things transpire and the tension builds, and any human interactions are severely disjointed. However, Dogtooth had an internal logic which became apparent from the beginning of the movie and remained consistent up until the end. The Lobster on the other hand does a very poor job of describing it's inner mechanisms.
--I've tried searching for reviews of this movie to see why it is so highly acclaimed, and they mostly seem to be revolving around the statement "oh, it's a smart critique of how our society views human interactions." However, where is the foundation for this statement? The Lobster seems to have been designed to jam a few superficial observations down the viewers throat, but each of these have been previously explored deeply in better works of film or literature. It is a series of superficial and vague statements which are not interconnected by any internal logic within the work itself.
--The problem with this is that any set of images can be then interpreted by the viewer while searching for depth, but this does not mean that the movie has any actual depth. Which it doesn't. The characters have all the complexity of cardboard cutouts. This left room for the society in which they live to be a character of its own, but this opportunity is not seized, as the society itself is not elaborated upon in any way. The central source of all tension within the movie are its society's rules, and since their role in society, or the motivation to create them, all remain without explanation, they come off as trite and arbitrary.
--In the end, this movie felt rather humorless, pointless and left me hungry for substance. I firmly believe there is a lot of "art" in the world which thrives on people "not getting it" and then being scared of seeming foolish to those who do "get it". Stop this nonsense. There are wonderful, symbolic works of art out there. Go enjoy them and never praise this movie again. I would include suggestions, but the list would be too long and then this would no longer be a review for The Lobster.