Lanthimos' Best Film To Date

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2018)

This is a most unique feature, brimming with wonderful direction, cinematography, screenplay and performances. A showcase of Yorgos Lanthimos' unique method.
There is much to praise, first and foremost comes the screenplay and direction from of which the rest of the glory comes from. Yorgos Lanthimos delivers what can only be described as absurd, but truly never feels 'cringed' or forced. This film has incredible tonal consistency, and its entire band of emotion is delivered to perfection. The dialogue within is very unique, every character feels awkward within their own skin, and highly intriguing dynamics then play out. Yet it doesn't feel bad, it is silly, but works extremely well. Once again Lanthimos delivers the best from his actors, none of the performances fall on the weak side, and with so many talents here and so many differing angles of character and the variety of emotion, it is truly a wonder that they all came out to the quality in which they did. The comedy feels mischievous and yet some may call it distasteful, I believe it compliments and feed the tone of the feature. As a matter of fact, I was so enthralled by the comedic elements that I had started coughing on three separate occasions during the feature, it truly is a funny experience, yet is deadpan but not boring. It doesn't run out of steam, it flows at a steady pace.
The cinematography of this film is stellar, having read into it, it turns out this film was not shot on film (Due to no labs being present in Ireland), and thus they used a very specific combination of lenses to deliver a grained, classical and vibrant look. The colours are very deep, it feels not 'vibrant' in the sense of an explosion of colour, bit vibrant in its depth, it feels real, the colours contrast and match in all the right places. In addition to this, most of the feature was shot under natural light, this compliments the tone of the film in a most unexpected way. It feels more raw, and has greater depth in all the right places. In addition to this, The way in which Yorgos Lanthimos and Thimios Bakatakis have created the angles used in the feature is truly unique, they repeat the same angle when in the same place, indicating the monotony of the characters lives. The angles are highly creative, creating a unique image, when in tandem with the colouration, it truly has a unique picture quality and perspective.
Another great strength of this feature is its performances, first is Colin Farrell as David. For the longest time I didn't like Colin Farrell as an actor, but this has truly changed my opinion of him. His performance as the silently heartbroken, yet pragmatic and funny David is really magnetic. He doesn't hold back in any aspects, yet the performance is not over the top, it is subdued where it has to be and is highly enthralling and entertaining to watch. Seeing him step out of the usual drunk irishman role, and into something highly unique and so successful was a delight.
The rest of the cast is also wonderful. Ben Whishaw as John was great to see, along with John C Riley, they give David some backbone in the first half and help to prop up his character which is rather quiet in the first half. Léa Seydoux as the loner leader was great, she appears in far too few roles, and delivered the slightly deranged and power crazed leader very well. A great antagonist who yet the main character rely on. Ariane Labed as the Maid and Angeliki Papoulia as Heartless Woman were both great, seeing them in another Lanthimos movie was fantastic and here they play upon their characteristic strengths of strange, somewhat evil and some might say cruel ladies within the narrative. They also deliver some of the comedic highlights of the film which one must only see to truly understand. Olivia Colman was as wonderful as ever, the sadistic yet friendly hotel manager is truly what begins the absurdity of the feature was was delivered extremely well by Colman.
Rachel Weisz as the shortsighted woman who falls in love with David was a great presence. She narrates the majority of the feature, though we do not first encounter her in physical from until much later into the film. She was masterfully performed, her and Colin Farrell were well matched, and her witty and obtuse character was really a needed balance to Farrell's character.
On the other hand, I did feel that in some parts the film dragged on a little too far. For instance the comedy sometimes went on a little too long, however I understand Lanthimos' decision to portray it in this way, its meant to be awkward and strange. Yet in some parts I understood this and yet I felt it went on a little too far. In addition to this, most of the film is devoid of music, while I also understand this decision, I felt as of it was somewhat lacking in some areas, although this did not impede upon my enjoyment of the feature.
In the end, this is a truly great film. One of the ultimate, if not perhaps the, blend of comedy, absurdism and dystopia. Yorgos Lanthimos has done it again and is truly writing his name as one of the best filmmakers currently working, due to his masterful way of constructing a film from all aspects, most notably acting, cinematography, direction and screenwriting which are all distinct and unique to his own expression. 8/10