The Oscar nominees were announced on Tuesday and Triangle of Sadness had been nominated for best picture. I had only seen some small glimpses of it in commercials, so I figured now is as good of a time as any to watch it. The film follows a cruise full of models and rich people that sinks, and the survivors are forced to survive on an island. As a dark comedy, this movie was pretty enjoyable. The one scene that encapsulated that perfectly was the captain’s dinner scene. For starters, the ship is on rough waters, so all the crew is standing at 45-degree angles holding champagne glasses acting as if nothing is happening. All the guests experience differing levels of sea sickness, yet the crew just keeps motoring on like nothing is happening. It gets very disgusting as people are just vomiting and shitting which you could take or leave, but the crew’s calmness in the chaos made me laugh.
In all honesty, I see why this was an Oscar nominee, but I just didn’t like it that much. For starters, the movie lacks any and all subtly. Beyond the plot, the theme of the movie is the differences in economic class systems and privileges that come with wealth. The main couple we follow is Carl and Yaya, two models who are introduced fighting over who should pay the bill, Carl (the guy) or Yaya (who earns more). The crew of the cruise is introduced chanting about how if they do a good job, they’ll get big tips. Hell, the night before the ship crashes, Woody Harrelson’s character (the captain) gets drunk with a guest and they argue about capitalism vs socialism over the intercom. The guests constantly disregard the crew’s responsibilities and make them entertain them. Once the boat does sink, the only person alive who knows how to survive is the “lowly” cleaning lady Abigail, who ends up taking control of the situation. The man who was staunchly defending capitalism quotes Marx “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big critic of capitalism but the movie is constantly spelling it out. Then again, I’ve never written a movie so maybe there is no way to make this point subtly.
My other big issue is the movie didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Woody Harrelson’s character wasn’t shown until the middle of the movie essentially. I thought that was supposed to be a big reveal as he was the captain and his economic views made it seem like he was going to be a major character moving forward in the movie, but he really was in two scenes and didn’t make it to the island. The reason the boat sinks was because of pirates but there was no mention of that threat until they just randomly appeared and then weren’t mentioned besides someone accusing the lone black survivor of being a pirate. Also, in the beginning, after Yaya and Carl fought over money, she made the point that as a female model, the only way she can get out of the industry is if she becomes a trophy wife. Carl says he will get her to love him and he will love her, but nothing really comes from it. As soon as they’re deserted on the island, Carl becomes Abigail’s de facto lover and is going to end things with Yaya. Maybe the point is that these just are vapid people who don’t have emotional intelligence or awareness, and if so, I’m just dumb.
The biggest thing that didn’t make sense though was the ending. Abigail and Yaya go for a walk and Yaya find out that there has been a resort on the island the entire time. Abigail then goes to kill Yaya, which made sense. Abigail had been treated like crap by these elites and didn’t want to lose the power she had established. It then just cuts to Carl running in the woods and the movie ends. I looked it up and most people agree it is because he felt like something bad was going to happen, but there is no resolution. I’m fine with leaving endings up to the viewer’s interpretation, but Triangle of Sadness left too much unresolved for me to come away satisfied.
Final Thoughts
Before wrapping this review up, I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay respect to Yaya’s actress Charlbi Dean, who unfortunately and tragically passed away before the movie even hit theaters. She and the rest of the actors did very well with what they were given and the performances elevated the movie for me. While I don’t agree with the nomination for best picture, Triangle of Sadness is absolutely worth the watch.
