Review: Triangle of Sadness

Carl (Harris Dickerson) is a model in a PR beneficial relationship with an influenser, Yaya (the late Charlbi Dean) They're gifted a trip aboard a luxury cruise with the uber-rich and what starts as a perfectly Instagramable trip turns into chaos.

Winner of this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes, and the subject of so much Twitter buzz, this has been on my radar for a while. Even with all that high praise, I kept my expectations in check because I wasn't a huge fan of director Ruben Östlund's last film, The Square. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about here. 

If there's one thing I can suggest it's not reading the synopsis on IMDb before watching this. Not that it gives a huge part of the plot away or anything, but what it describes as the catalyst doesn't actually happen until well over 2 hours into this movie. One could go into it with the wrong expectations.

Ultimately, this is a film about classism and the hierarchy in jobs that deal with the rich. It's never subtle, and it shouldn't be. It's darkly funny, and at times very, very gross. I had to laugh to myself while watching this because so many people warned me about Bones and All being unsettling but what they really should've been warning me about was the Captain's dinner scene in this movie. If you know, you know.

Dickerson and Dean are perfectly cast in their roles. Carl and Yaya are both very vain, but the way all the other characters act around them really makes all involved shine. Woody Harrelson makes a fun extended cameo, and Dolly De Leon comes out swinging in the final 1/3 of the film. 

While the film is long and the ending didn't quite work for me, I had a ball watching this. 

Grade: B-