Triangle of Sadness
"Never argue with an idiot, they'll only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."
Carl and Yaya, an influencer couple, are invited to a luxury cruise ship alongside the blissfully entitled and oblivious wealthy. The situation takes an unexpected turn when a brutal storm hits the ship, forcing a sudden re-evaluation of the power structure.
I love Ruben Ostlund’s films.
His most well-known previous films, Force Majeure and The Square are both brutal satires, crafted with an unflinching eye and a razor sharp wit, allowing its deserving targets little chance for redemption, and all while delighting in making the audience squirm for the sin of their eager voyeurism.
Triangle of Sadness is no different. Like those two films, the wealthy, the privileged, the presumptuous, the entitled… and somewhat unavoidably, white people… are all in his sights for this examination of class and power.
The film’s particular focus probably explains why the leisure class—those who regularly pay for and expect the type of situations that cruises, festivals, and resorts specialize in—are all reacting negatively to this film, often claiming that it “belabors the obvious,” usually said with a dismissive sniff. Maybe this is why it’s considered a “somewhat controversial” Palme d’Or winner, hmmm? Perhaps? Also, perhaps, this could be why those same dismissive and visibly miffed critics all seem to love the oh so popular, eye-rollingly white-centric, and absolutely toothless “skewering of white privilege” that is the HBO show White Lotus? Perhaps?
After all, satire is best when the target isn’t injured by it, right?
Triangle of Sadness is a viciously barbed and unforgiving 3 act story of the idle rich, the serving class, a luxury yacht, a sudden storm, and a deserted island. It’s Gilligan’s Island, but if Mary Ann, Gilligan, and The Professor didn’t put up with anyone’s shit once they washed up on that beach, and deservedly so, right? But then the film turns to the question of how it is exactly that the Professor could make a coconut radio, but for some reason, couldn’t fix a 3 foot hole in the S.S. Minnow... After all, what do the wealthy and the powerful always do if their world is threatened? (Gestures around at the current state of America.)
Triangle of Sadness is a delight.
It’s mean in all the best ways. Best of all, it’s right, targeting the right people for the right reasons. It’s the cinematic equivalent of showing up to the family thanksgiving dinner, throwing that dry-ass turkey to the floor, telling your asshole bigot relatives to eat shit, and then smacking their loud little snot-nosed brat across the face just for laughs. Chaos! Beautiful chaos!
Loved it. Big thumbs up.