Dark comedy Triangle of Sadness is the second film in a row from Swedish writer and director Ruben Östlund to win the Palme d’Or after The Square. Triangle of Sadness, like its predecessor, sends up pretentious, bourgeois high culture. Set mainly on a luxury yacht, it features an ensemble cast of quirky characters, from billionaire guests and the working class crew who have to cater to their needs, no matter how impractical they may be. The contrast allows Östlund to develop a more pronounced commentary on class with hilarious, albeit uneven results.
Social media influencers and models Carl and Yaya (Harris Dickenson and Charlbi Dean) are a couple who quarrel over money and the dynamics of their relationship. They join a luxury cruise, where they are served by the peppy Paula (Vicki Berlin) and the wait staff of the crew. They must cater to every whim of the ultra-rich guests. Other passengers include Dimitry (Zlatko Burić), a Russian businessman, who made his fortune around the collapse of the USSR. Later, the guests are joined by the drunken Captain Thomas Smith (Woody Harrelson) for dinner as the yacht braces a storm. Hysteria erupts as the passengers succumb to seasickness, while the Captain and Dimitry debate capitalism and communism over the boat’s PA system. The distinctions in class are shattered when the yacht is destroyed and passengers find themselves on a desert island where a new pecking order emerges.
Östlund’s social commentary is at times too obvious and heavy-handed. It also has the intellectual sophistication of a college freshman telling his family about the evils of capitalism during Thanksgiving break. The third act also fails at a satisfying resolution and takes the wind out of the film’s strong second act. It may not deserve its Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, but Triangle of Sandness has enough laughs to make for a worthwhile viewing. The film also benefits from Dickenson’s performance as Carl, who is the foremost witness who how the balance of power shifts from character to character.
Triangle of Sadness and other recent highbrow films that lampoon the rich know that their audiences are the pretentious, cultured, and often well-to-do types they satirize. These are films that play in urban art cinemas in high-rent neighborhoods or in suburban multiplexes in shopping malls with a Neiman Marcus anchor. Many in the audience also may think of themselves as progressive and sympathetic to Östlund societal criticism. Perhaps in a future film, Östlund can comment more plainly on the symbiotic relationship between Marxist artists and the monied benefactors who use their art as a commercial product.
