Triangle of Sadness Movie Review

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

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Written by: Ruben Östlund
Directed by: Ruben Östlund
Starring: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly de Leon, Zlatko Buric, Woody Harrelson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.

Verdict
An upscale cruise provides the setting for wealthy guests and influencers while the staff  capitulate to ridiculous requests in hopes of getting a bigger tip. The power balance is clear as guests make demands and rage when their requests go unfulfilled. This power dynamic is upended on an island where the rich possess no skills to survive, but the staff does. During the runtime we see people's perceived value fluctuate. Worth is all about perspective, and we see this group struggle to survive. This movie certainly has a few darkly humorous moments, and it gets better with each scene. The scenes on the boat during the storm are a trip.
Watch It.

Review
As we're informed during a scene where male models are interviewed, the triangle of sadness is the area between the eyebrows and bridge of the nose. With the cruise ship, I wondered if the title is also a play on the Bermuda triangle. It's unclear what this movie is at first as we see male models and fashion shows. Yaya (Charlbi Dean) and Carl (Harris Dickinson) argue over dinner about money and gender before later cooling off and having a calm conversation about their argument. It's a relationship of convenience to chase social media followers.

Charlbi Dean, Harris Dickinson play Yaya, Carl

Due to being influencers, Yaya and Carl end up on a yacht with super rich people where the staff willingly accommodates any inane request. At one point a patron tells one of the staff how everyone is equal. On this cruise that's especially ridiculous, and that's the joke of this movie. The class divide is a gulf and the rich are incredibly out of touch. This guest wants to be 'nice' to the staff, then gets upset when the staff member doesn't comply. These are people used to their demands being granted regardless of how ridiculous they might be. No one on the staff is willing to tell the guests no. It's silly, but that's the point the movie makes.

In another scene a lady complains about the ships dirty sails. I wondered if this boat even had sails. She complains to someone else only to be told the ship doesn't have sails. She complains, so the staff agrees to clean the sails.

A violent storm and questionable food causes guests to become violently ill during dinner. This whole sequence is a trip, and I don't know how the staff doesn't lose it. Then to be on staff and have to clean that dining room, I don't know how anyone would do that. This movie has been good, but this sequence sold me. It's at this point a good movie became even better.

The guests and crew end up on an island which is a thing in of itself. The dynamic on the boat was staff surrendering nearly all of their dignity. On the island, Abigail (Dolly de Leon) is the only person that knows how to catch and prepare fish. A fight occurs about Abigail giving herself a larger portion of good, but she counters that she was the only one that did any work. All of a sudden money doesn't matter that much on this island. Abigail is the leader, and everyone reluctantly agrees. This movie keeps getting better, and the flip on the power dynamic really entertains. Carl argued gender stereotypes in the movie, and he certainly doesn't conform to norms during the movie.

Only in the wild are staff and their merits valued. The same people on this ship that were there because they were rich are all but worthless on an island. Towards the end the movie teases a scenario where things would return to normal. With all that occurred, the rich are all too eager to return a class system that puts them on the top.