‘Triangle of Sadness’: a very funny comedy – or weak satire

A very funny comedy with a lot to think about: ○○○○○

Laughter comes in many forms. The roar of laughter at the loss of control ofslapstick and banana peel, poop and pee. The villainous chuckle at the pun orinsult. The sweet smile at the surprising link, paradox, non sequitur.

Comedy Triangle of Sadness has them all: two and a half hours fly by. It istherefore logical that the film press in Cannes reacted sparingly to thissecond Palme d’Or for director Ruben Östlund in May: the acidity is highthere. Östlund operates here loosely, coarsely and absurdly, which gives thefilm less focus than his art satire The Square from 2017. But also makes itfunnier.

Comedy

Triangle of Sadness Directed by: Ruben Ostlund. Starring: Charlbi Dean,Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Buric, Dolly De Leon. Length: 147mins

The slapstick is especially in the middle, when a luxury cruise ship is caughtin a storm while the champagne, oysters and caviar are served. Betweenwaterfalls of vomit and shit, the Marxist captain and a neoliberal Russianoligarch barrage each other over the intercom drunk with quotes from Marx,Lenin, Reagan and Thatcher – a Monty Python-caliber absurdity.

The nice smile is there immediately, when young fashion models learn how tolook. At cheap clothing brands – H & M – you smile generously. Join! Everyoneis welcome! At expensive brands – Balenciaga – you look grim, you frown the’triangle of sadness’ between your eyebrows. Such expensive underwear looksdown on its customers. They must first prove that they are rich enough forclub Balenciaga.

We meet model Carl and influencer Yaya while bickering over a restaurant bill.She is more successful and richer, yet she expects Carl to pay. He is the manafter all. But the dependent status that Yaya thus suggests is a joke, Carlknows. Only by kicking a fight can he get on an equal footing with her.

The celebrity couple hitch a ride on a fancy cruise full of old and new money.There the social hierarchy is completely clear. Above deck service personnel:the middle class. Below decks the invisibles: cleaners, mechanics. Untileverything tilts on a deserted island.

The triptych Triangle of Sadness doesn’t care about plot or drama; it is awitty exploration of the visible and invisible connections between money,status and power. A very funny comedy with a lot to chew on – very suitablefor Christmas.

Coen van Zwol

Weak satire and unforgivable viewer underestimation: ○○

Ruben Östlund’s films always contain one scene that is memorable and talkedabout for a long time to come. Think of the brilliant opening of Tourist inwhich a father runs away when an avalanche descends on his family, or into thedining scene The Square in which a bodybuilder turns into a disruptivemonkey.

Also his new movie Triangle of Sadness has one. It’s the sequence everyone’sbeen talking about since the premiere in Cannes: the seasick guests on thecruise ship puke all over during their dinner and once they reach their cabin,vomiting, an attack of diarrhea follows that flows down the corridors likebrown sludge. gushing from the ship.

The problem isn’t that this is an unsavory or unwitting scene, but that itgoes on forever. And it is all very reminiscent of the famous puke scene inMonty Pythons The Meaning of Life (1983). The one in which an obese man, Mr.Creosote, eats uncontrollably and has to vomit profusely between all courses.In fact, Östlund made an art house take on this witty scene.

Read also: this interview with director Ruben Östlund

It is also annoying that Östlund is so in love with his own ideas that hecannot keep a measure, resulting in lingering or downright boring scenes inwhich the attention fades away unnoticed. Everything is widely reported, inany case a recurring shortcoming in his changeable oeuvre.

As the film progresses, yawning tendencies become more and more difficult tosuppress. This is mainly due to the toothless, weak satire. What Östlund hasto say is not very sharp and is also made much too explicit, an unforgivableunderestimation of the viewer.

The bubble-dwelling, privileged and racist rich, the empty lives of hedonisticinfluencers, none of it is very surprising. And then there’s the obvious,obligatory reversal in the third part, when the Philippine toilet cleaner ofthe luxury yacht suddenly becomes the most powerful person on the desertisland because she can make fire and catch fish.

Östlund’s easy-going screenplay eventually feels like the brainstormingsession of woke high school students for the annual school play, with the endresult being a big nerd. Because that is Triangle of Sadness.

André Waardenburg

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A version of this article also appeared in the December 14, 2022 newspaper

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