Triangle of Sadness

Dark satires about the uber-rich are all the rage (as the second season of The White Lotus proved), and there’s no mystery as to why: they serve up a great escape that’s topped off with the schadenfreude we can enjoy with their inevitable comeuppances and downfalls.

This sharply biting comedic drama was helmed by the celebrated Swedish director Ruben Östlund, “the rare filmmaker who can turn chaos and conflict into clever comedy,” as GoldDerby puts it.

Carl and Yaya’s dysfunctional relationship is hysterical yet oddly fascinating. They first bicker over who should pay the bill at a five-star restaurant, which introduces the challenge of gender roles as well as the idea that Carl is just a glorified concubine. He seems to be offering little more than his looks. Their behavior will remind you of the empty echo of wealthy influencers’ apologies for their deplorable behavior, prolonging the chain of vapidity their older counterparts have already mastered.

A Russian billionaire, Dimitry, and his wife Vera treat the crew as dolls, such as when Vera begs a confused crew member to join her in the hot tub. Much of the crew cater to their guests’ every whim, eager for a big tip. In one of the film’s funniest moments, the head of the crew motivates her underlings by having them cheer, “Money! Money! Money!”

Many of the older guests on the yacht have amassed their fortunes in despicable ways. One couple made grenades, another boasts he is “the king of sh*t” (he makes fertilizer). When the ship hits the iceberg (not literally), it’s a grotesque scene: the guests spew up everything they’ve just ingested while the captain and Dimitry debate communism over the ship’s PA system. While some of it feels gratuitous, the irony of it all is brilliant. It’s as satisfying as watching the influencers at the Fyre Festival scramble.

It’s in the third act that the script gets flipped with an unlikely shift in power, and here’s where the movie really earns its buzz — and an award-worthy performance by Filipina actress Dolly de Leon. Just as the remaining guests start to bond in their new reality, the ending delivers a healthy final dose of irony.