We’re finally getting more and more movies exploring the growing divide between the rich and the poor. First came South Korean Parasite, then Mexican New Order and now the movie we’re going to be talking about today. Triangle of Sadness is a satirical black comedy following an unfortunate cruise for the super-rich. With a steady pacing, excellent dialogue, and camerawork, it’s quite easy to watch despite its somewhat lengthy runtime. When I played the movie last night, the first thing I thought was that I’m not going to spend two and a half hours watching some rich douchebags on a giant yacht.
However, as time went on, I sort of became hypnotized by the intelligent dialogue and predictable but still funny twists. In the end, I watched the whole movie and wasn’t bored. Sure, it could’ve been shorter but at least it was an experience. It would appear that Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund really loves this format. His last movie, The Square is also two and a half hours long and it won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. I will be definitely checking it out along with another one of Ruben’s hits, the 2014 dark comedy Force Majeure. Triangle of Sadness is his English-language feature film debut and it’s glorious.
It’s definitely not what I expected dancing on the fine line between outrageous and realistic. Okay, maybe that’s not really true when you consider the dinner scene that was just so wacky. I couldn’t believe that a narrative can shift so suddenly. You’re watching people talk and talk for an hour straight and then bam, an explosion ensues. And if you know my movie taste, you know that if a comedy has a bit of toilet humor, and I mean real toilet humor (perfection), I’m going to love it!
If you’re a fan of the fantastic television show The White Lotus, you’ll feel right at home. Now, the narrative becomes a bit heavy-handed at times but also quite open for interpretation. It’s definitely thought-provoking and it can be that movie you can talk about for hours straight. The questions and theories will just keep popping up, keeping the discussion lively. Even if it’s in your head. And you can always spill it into the comments section below.
The reason why I don’t like these movies about the rich is that they all feel to me like a version of a Mexican telenovela. And not just any Mexican telenovela, a very specific one, The Rich Also Cry. They usually show us that the rich, in this case, the super-rich, may have all this money but are suffering from the same problems as all of us. The situations they find themselves in automatically knock them from their high horses. To me, this seems like an easy way out, but at least it’s entertaining. And I support this direction so, this is just a side-note to this otherwise excellent movie.
When you have a script this good, the cast can do wonders with it. And while I expected these kinds of performances from veterans like Woody Harrelson or Zlatko Buric (Pusher), our young power couple really blew me away. Both Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson were stunningly good, playing their roles with a lot of confidence and honesty. You weren’t sure whether they were acting or not. Sadly, Charlbi Dean passed away a couple of months ago but at least we have this movie to remember her.
Director: Ruben Östlund
Writer: Ruben Östlund
Cast: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Buric, Hanna Oldenburg, Dolly De Leon
Fun Facts: The yacht you see in this movie, Triangle of Sadness is actually Christina O, a luxury yacht formerly belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. It’s a Canadian anti-submarine frigate and was in service during WWII. Onassis bought the ship for just $34.000 and upgraded it to a luxury yacht after the war was over.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7322224/
