The right to choose not to choose

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2017)

Yorgos Lanthimos delves deeper into his realm of weirdness to portrait in "The lobster" one of the most shocking, distressing and yet meaningful dystopian future the industry of cinema has thrown at us in decades. Does one really have the right to choose when he is denied the right to choose not to choose?
No room for singles in this dystopian city out of Lanthimos' mind. No rights for them but a last chance to fix their malfunction, to set themselves right and find a partner. After all, there's no safe stroll without a partner, no dinner without risks without a partner, no being human without a partner. Its either marriage or a trip back to being an animal.
But it is not just the oppressive atmosphere of the re-educating hotel Lanthimos crafts the best. It is the demonizing of both sides he delivers with utmost skill, showing no right choice but two opposite views stubbornly and cruelly carried through no matter the consequences. David must pick a side knowing both are wicked and wrong, and with all certainty that none will end well for him.Farrel delivers a great performance, topping an all around good performance from the whole cast.
It is perhaps the subtle cruelty beneath all the glamour and glitter, the non-graphic violence delivered through oppressive peer pressure and witty dialogue that surprises the most and makes "The lobster" so enjoyable. Yorgos excels once again at his social criticism, but manages to wrap it in a well packed film that will unsettle most but disturb none.