‘Triangle of Sadness’ Film Review: Gross-Out Comedy Is Overlong and Understuffed
thewrap.comAfter his 2017 art-world satire “The Square” scored the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Swedish provocateur Ruben Östlund swaggers back to competition with “Triangle of Sadness,” a mixed-bag of social commentary and gross-out comedy that could only come from a filmmaker with a secured reputation and zero f—s to give.
Taking aim at the 1% and shouting “Eat the rich!” with the anger of a sea storm and the subtlety of an exploding toilet, the film is both over-long and under-stuffed, but it nevertheless left Cannes’ notoriously tough crowd doubled over in laughter.Running just under two-and-a-half hours and split up into three chapters, the film lifts as much from Noam Chomsky as from John Waters as it hoses down beauty standards and luxury culture with gallons of projectile vomit.
A repeat Palme d’Or performance is probably not in the cards, and that’s just as well for the social satirist, who seems emboldened by his previous honor to bite the hand that fêtes him.Models and influencers Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean) are the throughline uniting the three chapters, which respectively find them on a date, on a cruise and stranded on an island.
Nearing their mid-twenties and recognizing their sell-by-date nearing ever so close, the pair makes for a convincing couple on Instagram and have much less to say to one another when their phones go dark.In chapter one we find them at a chic restaurant and embedded in a register that most closely resembles Östlund’s previous work.
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