Watch The Lobster

In the dystopian world of The Lobster, people are required to find a partner within 45 days or risk being turned into an animal of their choosing. The film centers around David (Colin Farrell), a recently single man who checks into a hotel that specializes in finding couples. David's animal of choice is a lobster, which he claims can live for over 100 years and remains fertile all its life.

At the hotel, David is introduced to the hotel's strict rules, which include not masturbating and engaging in daily activities meant to encourage romantic connections between guests. The absurdity of these rules is played for dark comedy, as the guests all seem to blindly adhere to them without question.

In this world, being single is not only frowned upon but actively punished. The guests at the hotel are given daily reminders of the consequences of being single, including short bizarre skits that depict the dangers and horrors of being alone. For example, a man who is caught masturbating is punished by having his hand burned in a toaster, and a woman who feigns interest in someone just to avoid being turned into an animal is exposed and given the same fate.

Despite the pressure to find a partner, David remains mostly apathetic towards the entire process. He befriends a man with a limp (Ben Whishaw) who pretends to be a sociopath in order to increase his chances of finding someone, but David is uninterested in playing games or pretending to be someone he's not.

When David meets a heartless woman (Angeliki Papoulia), the two form a brief relationship based solely on their mutual disdain for the hotel's rules. However, when the woman discovers that David has a slight physical abnormality (myopia), she leaves him to be turned into a mole.

David escapes the hotel and joins a group of loners living in the forest. The loners have their own set of strict rules, including a ban on romantic or sexual relationships. David meets a short-sighted woman (Rachel Weisz) and the two quickly form a bond based on a shared physical trait, which they must keep hidden from the group.

The second half of the film shifts its focus to David's time with the loners, and the rules they uphold are just as absurd as those at the hotel. The loners are required to walk in pairs at all times, but the pairing is based on the similarities between their physical traits, rather than any genuine connection. The loners are also forced to endure brutal acts of violence as punishment for breaking the rules.

The Lobster is a darkly comedic satire that explores the societal pressures to find a partner and the ways in which people are willing to sacrifice their individuality in order to conform. The film is filled with bleak and absurd situations that will leave viewers questioning their own beliefs and societal norms. It is a film that lingers long after the credits roll, leaving the viewer with much to ponder.

The Lobster is a 2015 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1 and a MetaScore of 82.