According to The Lobster, Singles are Criminals

Photo: Pinterest

“Just think as an animal… you have a second chance to find a companion.”

Imagine living in a world where having a partner is a must. Yes, you read it right. An obligatory.

Sounds uncomplicated? Well, the moment you're 46-day-being-single, you'll be turned into an animal. Absurd. Unsettling. Doesn't make sense at all. That's The Lobster (2015) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Now, think about this. Have you ever visited your relatives after a long time, and this is what you get: “Where's your partner?” “When are you going to start dating?”

Yes, yes. A very pleasant experience.

But at least in our world, these questions are still optional to be answered.

“Room 101, 44 days left.”

Lanthimos insinuates our reality by presenting an almost-two-hour movie, where single people are taken to The Hotel and obliged to find a partner. Not just a partner. They have to share similarities—at least one—to be accepted as a couple. Literally.

If you limp, you'll find someone who's limp. If you have frequent nosebleeds, you'll match with someone who does too. And if you're falling in love with someone who's different? Either you or your partner has to make a little sacrifice. Like what our hero, David, did here: take a liking to a blind woman.

Photo: Pinterest

The system generously gives you 45 days to find a romantic partner. If you fail, you’ll be ‘released’, hence some people would rather choose death.

The Lobster is not at all about turning singles into animals. It's about our society where the pressure of not being alone is heavily rooted.

“Room 101, 32 days left.”

No one's gonna count how many days you have left. No one's gonna turn you into an animal. But you can still feel the pressure, like an astray piece of puzzle.

If we're being honest, our society does something special towards a relationship. It's seen as the milestone of achievement, associated with success and stability. While being single is associated with loneliness. The Lobster takes this matter to the extreme: a failure.

The question is, why?

People are desperate to find ‘lovers’ just to fill in the expectations. Not because they want to, but because they feel that they should.

“If I don’t find a suitable partner soon, I’m gonna kill myself by throwing myself out of one of room. Out the window. I want you to know that.”

Interestingly, besides the world inside The Hotel where people are trying to find partners like mad, there's an opposite world deep in the woods, equally extreme: the community is prohibited to be in any sort of connection.

No love. No intimacy.

Two different worlds which strangely still feel the same. It's either you're forced to love, or to avoid one.

Living on either side of those worlds, you don't get to choose. That's the real issue.

At its core, The Lobster offers a broader reflection on how society perceives relationship. Even in a world with all of the modernity, this movie reminds us that certain expectations remain deeply rooted. Unsettling, not because it is entirely unrealistic, but because it isn’t entirely fiction either.

I must warn you, though. This might be the most boring two-hour experience in your life. The pacing is quite slow. And everything seems distant.

But I challenge you to watch this. To sit with all the discomforts. Because when love is forced, it loses its meaning.

I’ve written another article about freedom of choice here. Take a peek if you’re interested!

Cheerio!