The winner of Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Triangle of Sadness (OV: Sans Filtre) is the latest film by Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund and marks his English-language directorial debut. Starring Harris Dickinson, Dolly de Leon, Woody Harrelson and Charlbi Dean, who tragically passed away in August at the age of 32.
A satirical black comedy, Triangle of Sadness‘ core narrative comprises an array of passengers enjoying’ a luxury cruise, most of whom come across as entitled due to their wealth or good looks. Despite the deck staff being at their beck and call, the passengers easily find fault with the smallest things – most of which originate from the staff of ‘the lower decks’ such as the maintenance men and cleaners. They easily become the target of the passengers’ disdain and that of the deck staff, igniting a theme of classism that sees the rich face off against the poor.
All goes wrong when the Marx-quoting Captain Smith (Harrelson) chooses a stormy night to host a special and extravagant dinner despite Paula’s advice. His actions exacerbate throughout the evening, causing an endless stream of chaos and essentially destroying the paradisic image for his passengers. Although this hilarious sequence allows the satire to hit with a karmically comedic effect, it highlights the chaotic screenplay and direction, as well as the uneven pacing that introduces the second act – aka a huge dose of reality.
When an incident shatters the idyllic paradise, the second act sees a small group of passengers struggle with the simple concept of survival, with the class conflict between them and the staff drastically reversed. Leading this change is ‘toilet manager’ Abigail (de Leon), whose skills immediately puts her at the top of the totem pole – and the surviving passengers at her mercy.
Östlund’s screenplay not only heavily focuses on the superficiality of wealth but the currency of beauty, the latter of which is promoted by the dysfunctional relationship between models Carl (Dickinson) and Yaya (Dean). The latter initially has a power over Carl, who feels threatened by Yaya’s influencer success and wealth, yet she doesn’t show the same respect towards him and even admits her manipulative nature. His childish insecurities about their relationship nonetheless feel redundant as their status is ambiguous, but become ironic when Abigail (and pretzel sticks) becomes a growing factor between them.
While the second act grinds down the initial satirical tone, it allows de Leon to deliver Triangle of Sadness‘ biggest surprise as the empowered Abigail. Understatedly hilarious, she doesn’t take any prisoners due to her skills giving her an advantage over those who previously looked down on her. She also isn’t daunted by the wealth and entitlement – throughout the film, everyone talks about equality and being at the same level, but Abigail is the only one who seems to practise it…albeit briefly. In addition, both Dickinson and Dean convey frustration and whimsy in their performances but avoid being hysterical. Meanwhile, the film’s comedic tones are reinforced by Harrelson’s short-and-sweet role and Zlatko Buric as Russian entrepreneur Dimitry.
Upon the film’s vague climax, Östlund hints that wealth and looks only get so far – quite a lesson for Gen Z audiences. While it is hilarious in its satire, there is an inconsistency in Triangle of Sadness that might make audiences frown in confusion.
Triangle of Sadness is being shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2022. It will be released in cinemas on 28 October.
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Director: Ruben Östlund
Stars: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly de Leon, Vicki Berlin, Zlatko Buric
Runtime: 149 minutes
Country: France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
