Rating: 3.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2023 | 51/52 | 2020s
A social satire fit for college sophomores and erotic regurgitation enthusiasts alike
The triangle of sadness is the space between the eyebrows and the forehead. A panel asks the model to relax it.
We spend the first part of the movie getting to know the male model Carl and his girlfriend, Yaya, who is also a model and an influencer.
They give us the thesis statement of the film: “Money and gender — am I right?”
As a male model, Carl makes less than Yaya. But Yaya wants to follow traditional gender roles and for her man to take care of her. Still, neither is in the relationship for love — the relationship suits their brand and grants them access to more stuff.
The second part of the movie is on a yacht full of ultra-rich assholes.
The crew jumps up and down, chanting, “Money!” while prepping for their clients. Their primary directive: never say “no.”
One woman forces the entire staff to swim and “seize the moment” despite it forcing the chefs to abandon cooking food.
As a result, everyone who eats the fine dining food gets violently ill — puke and shit out the wazoo. It is gross stuff.
The movie’s third part takes place on an island. The yacht has crashed, and only 7-8 passengers and crew people survive.
No one knows how to perform survival tasks except Abigail, a cleaning woman on the ship. Once she realizes that, she shifts the power dynamics and becomes the “captain” of the survivors.
The three parts only vaguely tie together, but the through-line is consistent enough.
The film’s social critique — despite my joke subtitle, I honestly don’t care today. The film has many successful set pieces and scenarios that play out. While the humor dips for me, it is still consistently funny and cringe-worthy (compliment).
Of all the 140-odd-minute movies I’ve watched this year, this film made the best use of its time.
Stray Thoughts / Spoilers
- I can’t imagine people that rich taking a cruise together. Wouldn’t they take their private yachts?
- The lady complained about the “dirty sails.”
- A guy takes the jewelry off his wife’s dead body.
- Carl is excited to find a nice cologne on the beach.
- Playing backgammon on the beach. What is this, Lost?
- The donkey scene is, um, upsetting.