"Triangle Of Sadness" -- Movie Review

 

On the second half of the opening weekend for The 60^th New York Film Festival, I attended a screening of the new comedy, “Triangle Of Sadness”. 

Synopsis

Question:  What can go wrong when the rich and beautiful take a vacation on a luxury cruise?

Answer:  EVERYTHING!

Story

Carl and Yaya are a young and attractive couple, befitting the requirements of their chosen profession as models.  Additionally, Yaya is profitable as an Internet Influencer – as such, she has been gifted with a free trip for two on a luxury yacht.  When she and Carl embark on their trip, they have the opportunity to meet many other guests – quite a few of them being incredibly wealthy people considerably older than they are.  A great chance to network?  Sure.  But mostly Carl is looking to relax and Yaya is focused on building her brand by taking selfies and posting them to social media. 

One of the many highlights of the cruise is supposed to be the night when the passengers have dinner with the Captain (Woody Harrelson).  Unfortunately for all concerned, the Captain is an alcoholic who remains cloistered in his stateroom, refusing to leave.  His alcohol-addled brain causes him to schedule the Captain’s Dinner for Thursday – despite the fact that he has already been advised that weather reports indicate that night the ship will encounter a severe storm which will result in choppy waters.  The night of the dinner is, as expected, a disaster – the rocking of the boat causes all of the guests to become seasick, abruptly ending the evening. 

After the storm ends, things only get worse – the ship finds itself under attack by a rogue group of pirates who wind up blowing up the ship, causing it to sink.  While many perish during their attempt to abandon the ship, a lucky few are able to make it to shore via a lifeboat – among them being Carl and Yaya.  The land on which they find themselves appears to be deserted with wild animals being the only other occupants.  Unequipped to fend for themselves in such a situation, a small bit of good fortune occurs when one of the ship’s maids washes up in an escape vessel; she immediately takes charge by finding and preparing food for them.  But with provisions limited, will they be rescued before their food supply is exhausted?    

Review

Whoa!  What a wild ride this one is!  If you’ve been waiting for a laugh-out-loud comedy then this one is got to be at or near the top of the list – provided, of course, that you don’t mind gross-out humor based on bodily functions.  It’s difficult to pick a best scene or best line from “Triangle Of Sadness” (the title gets explained early on), but the Captain’s Dinner and the Captain’s remark to the Russian oligarch (quoting Karl Marx, “The last one we hang will be the one who sold us the rope”) would have to be considered.  The entire movie is brilliantly conceived and carried out by the ensemble cast. 

Based on the story – in particular, the third act – there will likely be inevitable comparisons with the classic 1974 movie “Swept Away” by the late Lina Wertmüller.  This is certainly a valid point given the similarities in both the setting and theme.  There are, however, differences that make the two rather distinct from each other.  For one thing, in “Swept Away”, when the two become stranded a contentious relationship turns romantic; that does not happen in “Triangle Of Sadness”.  Another, is that there are only two stranded people in “Swept Away” while “Triangle Of Sadness” has quite a motley collection of castaways. 

A conversation took place after the screening, which included director Ruben Östlund and cast members Dolly de Leon (Abigail), and Zlatko Burić (Russian Oligarch).  Östlund said that having grown up as a Socialist, he wanted to set the island scenes as a turning of the power structure.  As a film teacher, he was describing the screenplay to his students when one of them suggested that it might be better if the power structure fell into the hands of a woman; that’s when he got the idea to make that character the cleaning lady rather than a maintenance man.  Suddenly, the Toilet Manager becomes the Captain.