“Triangle of Sadness” Review
The richest of the rich all congregate on a luxury cruise where their power is tested by circumstance in “Triangle of Sadness,” this year’s winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
There are all sorts of film festivals across the world. I should know, I took a course on it in college and helped program my university’s independent student film festival. But in terms of the most prestigious film festival there are three which are no more acclaimed than the Venice, Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals. Every year, film buffs are swept up into the pageantry of it all and wondering which films from all over the world will win the top prizes.
While many film lovers assume that the prize most American filmmakers secretly want is the Academy Award for Best Picture (which is true, I mean who are we kidding), the Palme d’Or of the Cannes Film Festival is, in my opinion, the most esteemed prize that can be given to a film. Unlike the Oscars, where most of the films are American or, at least, in English, festivals like Cannes have films from all over the world and the competition gets even more intense. The Palme d’Or has been awarded to some truly amazing films over the years including “The Third Man,” “La Dolce Vita,” “Blowup,” “Taxi Driver,” “Apocalypse Now,” “All That Jazz,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Parasite.”
So, with all that splendor, I was truly excited to see the Palme d’Or winner of this year’s festival, “Triangle of Sadness” and it didn’t disappoint. With rich commentary, a clever sense of humor and truly outstanding performances, this film is one of the year’s best.
In the film, a group of incredibly rich people, including an Instagram model/influencer couple named Carl and Yaya (Harris Dickinson and Charbli Dean), set sail on luxury cruise where many of the rich patrons, including our leading couple, are the most obnoxious twits with their silver spoons shoved so far up their asses that you can’t see where the spoon begins. When the ship sinks, a group of survivors, of both the rich and working classes, band together and form their own collective on an uninhabited island.
While this film has gained positive reviews and won the Palme d’Or, one criticism I’ve noticed is people saying that “Triangle of Sadness” is good but not as good as writer/director Ruben Östlund’s previous work including “The Square,” his Palme d’Or winning film from 2017. If that’s true, then I really need to watch “The Square” and the rest of Östlund’s filmography because I thought “Triangle of Sadness” was brilliantly directed and written.
What I love so much is that it balances the comedy and the commentary so well. While many comedies that are coming out have commentary, some balance them very well while others don’t. My theater was laughing all throughout the film and I was amongst them. Much of the humor comes from how idiotic so many of these people are with how they view respect, popularity and love. They think it’s something that can be bought and sold. They do things not because they like them, but so they can appease their followers on Instagram or TikTok. It’s enough to make you seasick, something that does happen in the film in a scene that is definitely not for the squeamish.
With amazing writing and direction by Ruben Östlund (right) and masterful performances by actors like Woody Harrelson, “Triangle of Sadness” is an intriguing film about class and privilege.
Their delusion is also hilarious as one rich woman demands the crew wash the ship’s sails because she insists they’re dirty. The problem is the ship is motorized. The satire of the rich is blunt, but everything is changed when this motorized ship without sails is sunk. This is when the satire gives way to a more serious tone as the hierarchy based on wealth is completely upended.
What is so smart about the film is that it doesn’t contribute to cultural class warfare by saying that the rich are bad and the poor are good. It’s more of an attack on power and being ultra rich. There’s truly only so much wealth you can have before your mind is twisted. This occurs on the island as well where the rich aren’t those with money or expensive jewelry, they’re people who know how to survive. Some of the film’s best characters have a lot of money while others are workers on the ship who see through the gilded exteriors of their patrons.
Two of these characters are Russian capitalist Dimitri (Zlatko Burić), who is vacationing with his wife, and American socialist Thomas (Woody Harrelson), the ship’s captain. The scenes they share together are fascinating as they bounce their worldviews across each other while getting drunker and drunker as the ship is tossed into a storm. When Dimitri and Thomas tell each other their favorite quotes by Mark Twain, Karl Marx, Ronald Reagan and Lenin (I am the Walrus), it’s a truly fascinating and entertaining scene.
Alongside Burić and Harrelson (who delivers an Oscar-worthy performance), the film’s cast deserves to be praised by injecting humanity into the satire. Harris Dickinson and Charbli Dean are engaging as the main couple of the film with their relationship being constantly tested by what they want versus what will ensure survival. What’s tragic is that Dean passed away suddenly from a lung infection at the age of 32 on August 29. Her performance was fantastic and a sign of great things that would never come to pass. Fortunately she was deservedly lauded with praise at the Cannes Film Festival in May for her performance.
Dolly de Leon also surprised me with her layered performance as Abigail who, on the ship, is a cleaning woman. But on the island, she arises to a leadership position due to her survival skills which benefit the group. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve seen this film and I still don’t know how to feel about her character. Do I hate her or do I love her? That’s one question that the film brings up but never answers with its plot twists and an ending which is perfectly ambiguous.
After seeing “Triangle of Sadness,” I completely understand why this film won the Palme d’Or. It’s a masterful satire that is so entertaining and thought provoking. You’ll laugh but also ponder. Ponder the existence we lead and whether having wealth is really all that it’s cracked up to be.
