Imagine you work on a luxury yacht filled with rich clientele, fulfilling their every desire. One day, the yacht crashes and several of the staff and travelers find themselves marooned on an island. Does money reign supreme here, or does something else dictate the new societal structure?
Triangle of Sadness is the latest film from Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, and he won his second Palme d’Or for it at the Cannes Film Festival (his first win was for the Square back in 2017). It also played at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. It focuses on two young European models who are in a romantic relationship with each other, Carl (played by Harris Dickinson from Where the Crawdads Sing) and Yaya (played by Charlbi Dean from Black Lightning). The two take a trip on a luxury yacht which eventually crashes.
The two are some of the few survivors stranded on an island, alongside other rich clientele and some of the staff who are still considered to be just that, staff. After it becomes clear few of the people stranded here know how start a fire, set up shelter, or even catch a fish, one of the staff rises up. And under her thumb a new societal order is established.
Despite that description of the film, it’s actually a hilarious satire. It skewers both the upper and lower classes, but the film ultimately doesn’t seem to lean towards one side or the other in a moral sense. Rather, the film is more critical of power structures, and the situations those create. Those in power are always shown as using it against those below them. One scene shows one of the wealthy clientele demanding all the staff take a pool break, simply because she feels like it.
The situations where people are frequently shown as equals are where there is now power structure. One scene near the middle shows the yacht’s Marxist Captain (played by Woody Harrelson from Zombieland) and one of the clientele who is a capitalist Russian (played by Zlatko Burić from Pusher) arguing over their ideologies. In that moment, the two aren’t adversaries but merely people drinking and talking about what they believe in. There’s even an exchange in their power structure, but nothing really changes. There is another scene where every character is depicted as an equal, but let’s just say that everyone is on an even keel when an entire yacht is seasick.
Through centering the film on the experiences of the two models, the film takes a special focus on the role that fashion can play in class. I spoke with Östlund, who tells me that he got the idea from this film after meeting the woman who became his wife, who works in fashion. He says through her, he learned that many models come from a variety of backgrounds. “I was interested that beauty can become a currency that can make you climb in class and society…without talent really or without money or education.”
Both Dickinson and Dean (who tragically passed away a few months after the film’s premiere) deliver inspired performances. Dickinson’s character at many times plays like a clueless boy, coasting entirely on his cheekbones and lean muscular frame. But he frequently shows a confusion and desire to understand the differences of classist society, despite the fact that he cluelessly participates in it. As for Dean, she plays a character who looks like she has everything together and fully coasts on that, despite her worries about everything. These worries exacerbated on the island, where she essentially has nothing to offer other than her good looks.
As for Östlund, he says it was a tragedy for the entire cast and crew when they learned of Dean’s death. “Charlbi was a team player, she was very generous and caring to everyone around her.” He adds that in shooting the film throughout the pandemic, with a large portion of it on a secluded island, the cast grew like a family and became very close.
This film about society and its classism is one of the most unique films of the year, and one you certainly don’t want to miss out on. You can see it in cinemas now where it has a limited release, and it will go wide on October 14th.
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