Fantastic Fest Review: ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is a Whip Smart Class Takedown

What happens when a truly equalizing event occurs? Ruben Östlund certainly seems to have something dirty, nihilistic, and terribly funny in mind. sorrow triangle It’s a cinematic whirlwind with a punk rock spirit. Östlund’s latest film is constantly improving itself and pushing its audience. triangle From candid class commentary to full middle fingering at the expense of the rich and powerful.

A story of a runaway luxury yacht trip, triangle It is divided into several parts. The first chronicles the almost nonexistent relationship between Carl (Harris Dickinson, the perfect, shallow pretty boy here) and Yaya (the late Charubi Dean, who does a great job at this). The pair are a traditionally glamorous influencer and model pair, and their relationship is doing well for their Instagram followers — business. But it goes to great lengths to show us that even among the beautiful and definitely wealthy, there are class tensions that are mined for the worst movie dinner dates of the year.

Eventually, we get the pair on board the yacht, but also learn about the passengers and crew on board, and learn the ship’s hierarchy. A drunken meal turns a sterile luxury ship into a nightmare drenched in vomit and diarrhea. Here the rich don’t just eat shit, they slip, slip and grope helplessly. From here on, the film takes a turn, throwing a handful of passengers into a stranded island scenario, where they all find themselves unable to handle basic survival. All except de Leon).

that’s right, triangle Not interested in subtleties. Your mileage may vary with this kind of storytelling, and it can usually be a bit more, but in some situations, an emphatic and dull tone works. The film comes together perfectly thanks to De Leon’s strong performance as Buck, Abigail. De Leon steals the movie. Abigail wields her new powers with ease and confidence, and is happy to finally earn the respect she deserves. No one knows how long her reign will last, but it soon becomes clear that she’s willing to shed her humanity for this taste of power. It was a stellar performance, and it would be a shame if she was left out of the awards season conversation.

Lots of fun here too. The film’s dark pleasures can be found in the soundtrack (a mix of dance and punk), the rest of the performances, the shot setup and cinematography, and the way it boldly tries to talk about power, class and gender. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, even if “power” is simply access to a pack of salted pretzels.