The Lobster by Yorgos Lanthimos, however, toys with this sense. It's way too easy to understand mainstream movies before you even take a seat in the theatre. Good guy, bad guy, sidekick, backstabber, love interest, endgame. It’s all there in the trailer. You barely even need to think, problem solving is simply not involved as the evidence is presented clear as day. It’s rarely stimulating in an intellectual way, and appeals only to our most basic and comfortable needs - that of escapism and pure entertainment.
The Lobster throws curve balls; expectations are constantly needing
to be re-evaluated. As my mind seemed to focus in on the central thrust
of the film, as I was instinctively and by habit scanning for that take
home message, I found myself proven wrong over and over. Oh, these
people are here to find true love, so they’ll want to find matches. No, some
of them want to kill each other. No, some of them are just trying to
survive. No, some of them are acting out of fear. No, they all seem to
be lying. Wait, he’s not lying now, they’re in love, for real this time.
But now it’s not allowed. Wait, yes, it's happening, no, it's not,
wait, why would he do that, did he do that, what did he want all along,
how do I find out, there isn’t enough evidence shown, god dammit now
what. Was he good or bad? Were they even human, these strange robots? If
they are all determined to love why are they so cold? The movie offers
no answers to any of these questions. No clean finish, no over arching
theme to make you click and say “Oh yes, now I get it.” Because every
time you zero in, the movie offers a counterpoint. Love appears at first
a lie, a fabrication, and for a moment becomes real. Then it is torn
away. Or is it? 
This is a movie about love and fear, the fear of love, the love of fear. What is says about people is less clear, the characters are absurd caricatures by design, militant in their ideology, radicalised into two distinct camps, each majorly broken. The restraining expectations of love are boiled down to superficial similarities, literally a zero sum hunger games where compromise doesn’t exist and ultimatums rule everything. It is a work of art about our expectations? Is it a mockery of Disney brand perfect matches? Is it about desperation, loneliness and connection? All of these things, probably. But then that got me thinking. Is this movie really about anything at all? Why was I searching so desperately for that clean takeaway? Was it about getting value for money? From trying to learn a neat lesson from the movie? And before I knew it I was thinking less about the film itself, and more about the way I watch movies. That’s the genius here.
Where The Lobster succeeds most is in its ambiguity. It forces a different kind of analysis, a re-construction of expectations to suit its own world. It’s a profoundly different movie to be quite honest, and one that managed to make myself question the very way I think about how I take in what I see on the big screen. Moreover, how one takes in this film is also up for debate. To me, having a nice girl to see later in the day after the movie, the world seemed brighter and warmer to me when I exited the theatre, and all I could think was ‘thank god my world isn’t like that’. I imagine, depending on your position in life and relationship history that this movie could impact your perspective on love in a myriad of ways. It left me feeling very grateful.
So what’s the takeaway? You tell me in the comments. I’d love to hear it.
