Triangle of Sadness (Amazon Prime)

 

Triangle of Sadness (Amazon Prime)

The Triangle of Sadness is the space between one's eyebrows where the struggles of life manifest as wrinkles. The phrase is only used once in the film, but other terms can be used. The film is a dark satirical comedy with farcical scenes combined with slapstick plus lots of poop. It is a story about the idle rich and the perils of being idle.

The movie starts with two “influencers” Yaya played by Charlbi Dean and Carl her model boyfriend played by Harris Dickinson. My British friends would call them a pair prats bickering over who pays the check. The tiff goes on too long and becomes annoying. From the start neither character is endearing.

The next big part of the film takes place on a luxury cruise on a $250m yacht. The guests are like a bunch of Agatha Christie extras. They are a comical bunch with crew members admonished to cater to the whims of the guests, no matter how ridiculous. The guests include Dimitry played by Zlatko Buric, The king of shit (fertilizer), Clementine and Winston who made their fortune making munitions and the captain played by Woody Harrelson. For Harrelson this was a cake walk. He played his usual no fuss character just short of a southern drawl. His part is narrow, and the director could have made more use of his talents. There is a captain’s dinner which takes place during a violent storm at sea. It was like a Monty Python skit with passengers projectile vomiting, pratfalling and toilets overflowing.

The last scene is akin to Lord of the Flies where a toilet maid is elevated to queen for a day (a few days). Abigale the maid, played by Dolly Le Lemon, does a superb job transforming herself from a lowly toilet maid to leader of the pack because of her skills. The ending is perplexing and deliberately made ambiguous by the director.

All the actors do an excellent job with the script they are given. If you like dark comedies in the spirit of Monty Python this is for you. The film was awarded the Palme d’or.  It is also nominated for 2023 Oscar Best Picture.