Triangle of Sadness (2022)- BFI London Film Festival 2022

Review

147min

Genre:       Comedy, Drama

Director:     Ruben Östlund

Cast:         Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson…and more

Writers:     Ruben Östlund

-Synopsis-

In the lap of luxury on a swanky private cruise, a young model couple find themselves trapped with an array of morally questionable mega rich passengers when disaster strikes, as cliques and hierarchies are turned upside down when they’re plunged into desert island survival—in this Instagram generation’s ‘Gilligan’s Island’-gone-wrong meditation on class systems and excess from double Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund.

After expertly deconstructing marriage and gender roles for 2014’s ‘Force Majeure’ and skewering champagne socialism and convenient liberalism through the pompous prism of the modern art world in 2017’s ‘The Square’, Swedish writer/director Östlund returns with a vengeance to take on unseemly wealth, inequality, our shallow superficial culture, and capitalism itself in his signature satirical and frank absurdist style.

Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean star as young fashion model couple ‘Carl’ and ‘Yaya’, going through a rocky patch in their relationship of convenience but trying to relax on a private luxury cruise off the Greek coast where they meet an array of colourful characters; from the overeager staff including crew leader ‘Paula’ (Vicki Berlin) to the quirky ultra-wealthy guests, like brash Russian capitalist ‘Dimitry’ (Zlatko Buric) and awkward tech mogul ‘Jarmo’ (Henrik Dorsin), not to mention the spaced-out American Marxist ship Captain (Woody Harrelson). But the yacht and its power dynamics are turned upside down when things get rough and the s**t hits the fan, as the servants become the served when disaster strikes and marooned survival becomes the name of the game.

Titled after the progressively wrinkled area between the eyebrows—and perhaps also referring to the physical and existential vortex into which its characters are heading—‘Triangle of Sadness’ is an unflinching and relentless, perhaps blunt but never dull cinematic attack on power and privilege in the modern world . . . and a good-looking one at that.

Given its setting and the qualities of Östlund’s previous work, the film is unsurprisingly stylish, slickly and brightly shot on boats and Greek locations in the Aegean and Ionian Seas by his regular collaborator cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel (Force Majeure, The Square). Meanwhile the often whimsical Wes Anderson-like tone—which somehow both betrays the film’s serious message while simultaneously reinforcing it in brazen satirical style—is set by a baroque-style classical soundtrack combined with some pop music tracks which help to seamlessly drive a film that runs for two-and-a-half hours, but hardly feels like it.

From the start Östlund wastes no time in raucously ravaging the absurd pompousness of the fashion industry and the vapidity of celebrity ‘influencer’ culture, but at its heart ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is a blackly comedic critique of colonialism and globalisation—particularly of the Anglo-American variety—and its lingering effect on the current rigged and entrenched systems which govern us, not to mention the economic ruling classes which benefit at the expense of the masses. As such the Swedish filmmaker is going down a rather broad satirical route and isn’t saying anything particularly new or original. Yet the bold, hilariously discomforting, and inventive way with which he says it proves to be an invigorating and majorly entertaining breath of fresh ocean air.

Ultimately though Östlund’s (understandable) cynicism about society leads him—and perhaps the audience too—down a somewhat ambiguous but ultimately self-defeating and pessimistic path by the end, but you can hardly blame him given one sober look at the world around us today. And yet even hopelessness and impending doom can be hilarious, especially when you have someone to blame.

So as serious a social satire as this may be, it’s also often uproarious and gloriously uncomfortable thanks to the eclectic cast who do a solid job with disparate characters who range from eccentric and even goofy to tragic and wistful. As they expertly handle dialogue which blends Seinfeld-like observational humour about the mundane mixed with more high-minded but no less comical conversation, often delivered with deadpan precision and with the likes of Zlatko Buric and Woody Harrelson wonderfully chewing up the scenery—while leads Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean, plus unexpected 3^rd act lynchpin Dolly De Leon prove to be the sober heart of the surrealist piece. But the crowning moment in ‘Triangle of Sadness’ comes with Östlund taking the comedic potential of rough seas to a new level, and perhaps inspired by Jackson Pollock turning seasickness into a nauseating artform.

While it may be a bit broad and at times a tad smug, and it’s not exactly the most sophisticated or perceptive piece of social satire, ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is an engrossing absurdist tale about an absurd time . . . and thoroughly of its time. A rousing black comedy concoction which may or may not inform but will undoubtedly enthral its audience, perhaps leaving them asking—who would I be when the chips are down, all is lost, and I have to rely on others?

The Bottom Line…

Ruben Östlund triumphantly eats the rich and hilariously tries to drown them in a vomit-inducing vortex of black comedy satire and social commentary. ‘Triangle of Sadness’ may not have anything particularly revolutionary to say and it certainly doesn’t prove that cinema can change the world—indeed it feels like Östlund may have given up trying—but it does provide raucously enjoyable catharsis and undeniable entertainment, a fine addition to the Swedish auteur’s ongoing cinematic anthology of bringing our absurd society and the ludicrous way we live into the sober light of day.

‘Triangle of Sadness’ is out now in the US and on the 28th of October in UK cinemas.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Square (2017)

Set in modern day Sweden and the self-important world of modern art; a successful and liberal museum curator has his sensibilities and preconceptions challenged by an unexpected incident and his latest exhibition, unleashing confronting behaviour while raising uncomfortable questions about the gap between outward facade and genuine behaviour—in this cutting social satire from the writer/director of ‘Force Majeure’.

Directed by Ruben Östlund and starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss and Christopher Læssø among others.

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