Dogtooth and Alps director Yorgos Lanthimos returned to Cannes this year with another absurdist tale, The Lobster, and the result was near universal acclaim. An odd Charlie Kaufman-esque romance comedy, the film takes place in a world where it's literally illegal to be single, and those who haven't found partners within 45 days are turned into the animal of their choosing. Incredibly weird, right? Yet by most accounts Lanthimos pulls it off, and the first trailer seems to back that up.
Featuring an incredible cast led by Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, the story centers on a single man who meets and falls in love with a woman who comes from a different place. This would all sound very normal until you recall the dystopian backdrop. Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, Olivia Colman, Lea Seydoux, Ariana Labed, Aggeliki Papoulia, Jessica Barden, Ashley Jensen and Michael Smiley round out the cast. Here's the official synopsis:
THE LOBSTER is a love story set in the near future where single people, according to the rules of The City, are arrested and transferred to The Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into The Woods. A desperate Man escapes from The Hotel to The Woods where The Loners live and falls in love, although it is against their rules.
The Lobster opens in the UK next month but has yet to gain a U.S. date.
