Triangle of Sadness

Writer-Director Ruben Ostlund fancies himself as a filmmaker specializing in social satires. As the title hints at, his heavy-handed TRIANGLE OF SADNESS is broken up into three chapters. What connects the three are a fashion modeling pair, Carl (Harris Dickson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean; in her final role).

The conceited couple end up on a luxury cruise ship which includes a contingent of Russian oligarchs. It's captained by an erratic commander in Woody Harrelson, leaving much of the crew discipline up to Paula (Vicki Berlin). As in FORCE MAJEURE and THE SQUARE, Ostlund is fond of having a big set piece at the center: the avalanche in FORCE, the ape man at the fundraiser in SQUARE. In TRIANGLE OF SADNESS it's a Captain's Dinner set during a storm. Anybody who's seen Marco Ferrari's LA GRAND BOUFFE or Monty Python's MEANING OF LIFE will be prepared for the aftermath of the combo of fine dining and sea-sickness that follows. And, then things get even worse for Carl, Yaya and the rest of the guests and crew.

Ostlund has never been a subtle filmmaker, but, even by his standards, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS hits its targets too directly and on point from the very start with an over-extended prologue showing how superficial the fashion world is - stop the presses! Ostlund is too talented for the movie to be totally bereft of humor, but, he beats his targets over the head so firmly that whatever insights or laughs get drowned out in the process.

The final act, the aftermath of the cruise ship's calamities, has a certain effectiveness even if it's too drawn out. Dolly De Leon as Abigail, a cleaning woman, comes to the fore in this section and gives the movie a genuine spark or two. The rest of the cast do what they can with the the script (Ostland's first primarily in the English language - maybe the nuances got lost in the translation). Zlatko Buric is particularly effective as a boorish Russian passenger. Production-wise, TRIANGLE is well made with good use of the locations, including the main setting on the Cristina O yacht; But in the end, it's the failure of Ostlund to have anything to say -- let alone with wit and wisdom - that sinks this production.

The winner of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or prize, Ruben Östlund's Oscar nominated latest slice of melancholy and home truths about the human condition is going to be a divisive exercise for audiences as the Swedish director examines the divide between the haves and the have nots in an epic darkly comedic operation that will likely ensure it's sometime between trips to your local seafood market.

Flirting the line between dramatic beats and Monty Python like physical comedy and outlandish situations, Östlund's Triangle of Sadness is broken up into multiple chapters, with the central figures to the story being Harris Dickinson's down on his luck model Carl and his influencer girlfriend Yaya (played by the late Charlbi Dean who sadly passed away not long after the films release) as the two find themselves aboard a luxury yacht captained by Woody Harrelson's unpredictable literature loving overseer who is going to provide the cruise's guests with numerous unforgettable memories.

In no hurry across its questionably extensive two and half hour runtime, many will not be able to predict where Sadness is going as it slowly and surely wanders along its narrative that around the midway point provides viewers with some of the most unexpected and eye-popping cinematic moments of recent memories as Östlund's razor sharp social commentary takes hold and the journey of Carl, Yaya and the cruise's many guests and staff crash headfirst in an explosive way, leading to various revelations and contemplation's for the films colourful characters.

Headlined well by rising star Dickinson and the taken too soon Dean, who you sense was destined for big things following this effort, Sadness finds some fantastic moments courtesy of Östlund's award worthy screenplay and some fantastic turns from the likes of Dolly De Leon as softly spoken ship handmaid Abigail, Zlatko Buric as Russian millionaire Dimitry (stealing the films best scene courtesy of a P. A system) and the always enjoyable Harrelson, who as per usual makes the most of any screen time he has given as a man who appears to have had enough of playing along with mandatory niceties.

With so much to enjoy and unpack across Sadness's extensive runtime, there is a strong sense that Östlund's feature runs out of steam in the latter stages and while it's best that viewers head into Sadness as blind as possible, once the films last chapter takes hold there are less wins for the narrative as we begin to look forward to a neat wrap up that comes in the form of one of the more abrupt endings of 2022, one that is likely to cause significant debate amongst the film community, much like the film as a whole that some will adore and others loathe.

Final Say -

Providing us with some of the more memorable genuinely hilarious moments of any film from the last 12 months, Triangle of Sadness is a unique feature film from one of the most individual voices in world cinema and while the film does run out of steam in its endgame, Östlund's film is still another fine addition to an increasingly impressive resume of releases.

4 hand grenades out of 5.

Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

Having adored Ruben's first film and admired his second, I had high hopes for Triangle of Sadness.

Unfortunately, whilst there were some strong moments (mostly in the trailer) and I enjoyed many of the performances, it felt overly long and rather self-satisfied.

Lampooning the lives of the hyper rich, the ugliness, the greed, should come from a place of neutrality and I feel, MUCH more challenging and nuanced than this rather basic farce full of cheap stereotypes.

At no point did I feel that Ruben and the writers felt for a second that they were also part of an elite, as a creation of a privileged bunch of Western European creatives, I'm surprised there's been not much to question this.

Was there any introspection as to the hypocrisy of their position? The cinematic equivalent of a western teenager wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt to their private school.

Not surprisingly the disconnected Cannes audience ate it up. Awarding it, celebrating it and then popping back to their yachts in the harbour to demand cold champagne and hot massages from "the staff".

We watched it just a few days after we learned the death of Charlbi Dean, so I expected an awakward experience, but the film pulled me in from the first minutes. It was much lighter and much more fun than I expected - the title is misleading as "sadness" is absolutely not a topic in the film. However, it deals with quite a lot of topics such as richness, power, capitalism/socialism, and so much more... without preaching or suggesting anything. And it is funny and entertaining from start to finish, sometimes even going into satire. A definitely must watch where you don't feel at all that the runtime is over 2 hours. A very European, very international, very likable movie with stellar performances and a very funny but believably absurd story.

At its top layer, "Triangle of sadness" is a skillfully harsh comedy/parody, proudly absurd with a good dose of "cringe" in each of its 3 parts. Yes, it's funny and yes it's rude and over the top, but how else could it be since it tries to point a finger at our contemporary society?

If you follow the path that Östlund opens up for you, you might notice that beneath the strangely entertaining package the director tires to bring to light weakness found in aparent strength and not only this, but he also implies that no matter how much you try to "strip" people of their social shell, deep inside they can never really change.

Absolutely recommended and definitely worth the Palme d'Or it got this year!