Triangle of Sadness: More Like”Isosc-Elite” Triangle, AMIRITE?
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Directed by Ruben Östlund
Starring Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly De Leon and Woody Harrelson
The last thing I want to do is ruin your chances at optimum immersion with a film like Triangle of Sadness. The shock that surrounds the transition between scenes is what buoys this rough ride throughout. Just when I’d had enough heavy-handed lessons on the inequities of class structure, director Ruben Östlund surprised me with laughter, awe and even revulsion.
The film’s strength, however, is in its performances. As a glamorous and successful young couple, Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean set the tone in the first act with complex dialogue about gender roles and relationships. This strong foundation is followed by two new locations in the second and third acts, each more interesting and exciting than its predecessor. Dickinson and Dean are joined by a menagerie of wealthy, deplorable characters who charm us with their lack of awareness of the humanity in the have-nots they encounter. Before the film ends, we see the potential for depravity and selfishness that comes when the upper class are rendered equal to those around them, and are left to decide on our own if justice has been served.
Östlund has directed some of the most thought-provoking films in modern cinema. Play (2011), Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017) are all superior films to Triangle of Sadness, but none of them have Woody Harrelson. I assume his name on the poster and the fact that this is a mostly English language film had much to do with its nomination for best picture. Neon outbid A24 for distribution rights, and I hope the fact that it was a profitable venture for this risk-taking studio creates more opportunities for this excellent Swedish director.
Östlund is a true auteur. His writing and direction result in his films feeling truly his. Some of that unmistakable style is polished away with Triangle of Sadness, likely due to tinkering and editing designed to make the film more universally appealing, but it seems to have worked. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is one of ten films to be nominated for the best picture Oscar.
I cannot wait to see what Östlund does next. Hopefully this award-winning film will allow him to return to his more uncomfortable and thought-provoking roots and control all of the editing and casting decisions for his future films.
If Östlund’s previous three films are all A’s, then his latest is a B.
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