'The Lobster' offers quirky take on love

Originally scheduled for this week at the Panida, showings of the film “Me Before You” will not take place due to an unforeseen complication and will be rescheduled in July.

The Panida will play host this weekend to “The Lobster”, a Reader Reel due to the unique, off-kilter, and odd nature of the film. What animal would you choose to be turned into if you were told in 45 days if you didn’t have a mate you’d be turned into the animal of your choice. Why did David’s (Colin Firth) character choose to become a lobster?

This absurdist dystopian film is directed by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos in his English language film debt. While extremely funny it is not without its ruthless mo- ments. In the opening minutes you meet David’s brother — who is now a dog due to his failure in a prior attempt. He is checking into a hotel where he expects to remain for 45 days like the other guests — all of whom, male and female, are unattached. He must use his time wisely to procure a suitable mate. So strong is the conceit behind “The Lobster” that only gradually do you realize how much plot is being packed in.

Things begin to stir as David and the other residents, armed with tranquillizer guns, are forced to go hunting. The prey is not beasts but loners: single folk who have gone rogue in the woods and need to be culled. (The chase is shot in slow motion, to extraordinary effect.)

Loners willingly follow their own code of conduct, which is every bit as severe as that which prevails at the hotel. They may fraternize, or dance without touching, but that is all: two of them wear surgical dressings on their lips, having been caught in an embrace and punished with something called “the red kiss.”

David now absconds to join the loners, and falls in love with one of them (Rachel Weisz). The irony could not be more acrid: our hero, unable to lose his heart at the hotel, then loses it in the one place where the loss is considered a crime. Only in the city, where David and the woman evade suspicion by pretending to be a couple, do we see them share a writhing smooch, and even then they are told not to overdo it.

This isn’t your typical “date night” movie but anyone who has endured a bad date, a setup, parents and well-meaning relatives asking the questions about whether or not you are going to get married will all relate to the quirkiness of this film.

“The Lobster” is showing at the Panida on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The film is rated R.