Triangle of Sadness

Ruben Östlund returns with his second Palme d’Or winner, a jet-black satire of the haves and have-nots.

Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson

The extent to which this film appeals is down solely to the nature of the material and to each individual’s response to that. But put that issue aside for a moment and it is easy to find plenty to admire in Triangle of Sadness. Shot in colour and widescreen by Fredrik Wenzel, it looks splendid and that aspect is further enhanced by first-class production design by Josefin Åsberg. Furthermore, this is a film with a large cast in which every single role is in the hands of an actor ideal for it. These qualities are sufficient in themselves to prevent boredom setting in regardless of the fact that the running time of the film is a full 150 minutes. This is a story told in three distinct sections and if in the last of them there is a sense of too much time being allocated to it that is due to the writing and not to the direction which is adroit throughout. However, Triangle of Sadness finds Sweden’s Ruben Östlund as both writer and director so there is no question at all about who stands to be either praised or criticised for giving us such a bizarre work.  Incidentally it is his first in English.

The opening section lasting some 25 minutes is different from the rest since it concentrates on just two characters, both fashion models. The man, Carl (Harris Dickinson), is no longer as successful as his girlfriend, Yaya (the late Charlbi Dean). We see them eating out at an expensive restaurant and witness a dispute over who should pay the bill. The tone of Triangle of Sadness is satirical and here the focus seems to be on male insecurity in a world where women have cast off submissiveness and can be viewed as both assertive and manipulative. Neither Carl nor Yaya comes across as sympathetic but Dean makes a very special mark due to the fact that she possesses star quality (the camera loves her and she accordingly lights up the screen). Dickinson's role is, in effect, the lead role but not a very rewarding one to play and Dean outshines him. This suggests that she could have had a great future on screen but that is tragically ironic given that the actress died of a lung infection shortly after filming ended aged only 32.

Part II of Triangle of Sadness is entitled ‘The Yacht’ and it finds Carl and Yaya having won a place on a luxury cruise. Their work as models means that they are by no means badly off but their fellow passengers are in another league altogether. They include Dimitry (Zlatko Buric), a Russian magnate who has made a fortune out of fertilizer, his wife Vera (Sunnyi Melles), a billionaire named Jarmo (Henrik Dorsin), the wealthy Therese (Iris Berber) who, disabled by a stroke, can only say her husband's name and the phrase “in the clouds” and a British couple, Winston and Clementine (Oliver Ford Davies and Amanda Walker), whose money comes from manufacturing software and hand grenades. The other main characters are the yacht’s alcoholic captain (Woody Harrelson), the crew chief Paula (Vicki Berlin) and a Filipina cleaner named Abigail (Dolly De Leon). In portraying life above and below decks Östlund’s satirical gaze is focused on the rich and just how undeserving, shallow and appalling they can be.

The middle section of the film builds to a sustained episode when the captain’s dinner takes place on a rough, stormy night which leads to most of the guests becoming sea sick, vomiting and in some cases suffering from diarrhoea. We are invited to enjoy the acute discomfort of these rich people but as satire this is unsubtle and, while viewers may revel in Schadenfreude, Östlund is not a director with an eye for comic detail. Actual laughs are limited and it is late on in Part II before Harrelson and Buric indulge in a drunken game in which they trade quotes and argue over political viewpoints. Here, at last, the comedy takes off very effectively.

When pirates attack and the yacht sinks we move on to Part III. This is entitled ‘The Island’ and it portrays the fate of those who have survived, including Carl and Yaya. However, in an echo of The Admirable Crichton, it is a situation in which Abigail the cleaner proves to be the one with the skills to organise and get done what needs to be achieved in order to survive on what appears to be an uninhabited island. She has become top dog and Carl willingly succumbs to her advances. This leads to a very effective final scene, but this third section lasts a whole hour and there is not enough plot development to sustain it even if a new character is introduced played by Jean-Christophe Folly. He is a black man and that allows for doubts to be expressed due to his skin colour as to whether he is indeed a surviving crew member or perhaps a pirate. But that particular element is hardly developed and too little happens even if the final segment does have the advantage of leaving the audience uncertain and intrigued as to where the film is headed. As indicated, the climax proves to be a strong point in the film but, given the lack of sympathetic characters, what precedes it is just too relentless, too obvious and too repetitive to engage the audience at such length.

It could be said that, like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Triangle of Sadness creates a world of its own that is a reflection of society but Wes Anderson’s film is so much more engaging, so much more subtle. Like so much comedy, satire can, of course, be a matter of taste: but perhaps we can all agree that the end credits are not intended to be satirical, not even when giving a special credit to the chef to Woody Harrelson.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly De Leon, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Buric, Sunnyi Melles, Amanda Walker, Oliver Ford Davies, Vicki Berlin, Alicia Eriksson, Iris Berber, Jean-Christophe Folly, Henrik Dorsin, Caroline Gynning, Ralph Schicha, Arvin Kananian, Thobias Thorwid.

Dir Ruben Östlund, Pro Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Screenplay Ruben Östlund, Ph Fredrik Wenzel, Pro Des Josefin Åsberg, Ed Mikel Cee Karlsson and Ruben Östlund, Costumes Sofie Krunegård, Sound Andreas Franck and Bent Holm.

Imperative Entertainment/Film i Väst/BBC Films/Platform Produktion/Arte France Cinéma-Curzon.
150 mins. Sweden/France/UK/Germany/Turkey/Greece. 2022. US Rel: 7 October 2022. UK Rel: 28 October 2022. Cert. 15.