What Did I Just Watch?! The Lobster Movie Title & Deeper Meaning Explained (2024)

I'll be honest, the first time I watched The Lobster I didn't get it. But after having seen it enough times, I've managed to wrap my head around some of the film's darker and brutally hilarious points. Yorgos Lanthimos' fifth feature-length movie was when wider audiences really began to take notice of the Greek director, despite the fact that his first film, My Best Friend, premiered back in 2001. The Lobster stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and Léa Seydoux in a grimly funny exploration of love and relationships that can be hard to understand on your first watch.

In a semi-dystopian society, single people are sent to a hotel where they have 45 days to find another single person they are compatible with. If they fail, they are turned into an animal of their choosing. Residents may extend their stay by hunting single people who have fled into the forest beyond the hotel's grounds. Still with me? David (Farrell) arrives at the hotel, eventually fleeing himself, and joining up with other single people, the "Loners". Despite the Loners' rules, David ends up falling in love with one of his companions, leading to heartache — and worse.

The Lobster's Title Refers To The Animal David Wants To Turn Into

David Thinks Living For 100 Years Would Be Ideal

The title The Lobster refers to the animal David picks to be transformed into if he doesn't manage to find a life partner after 45 days. Say what you will about the hotel and this society, at least they let you decide what kind of animal you get to spend the rest of your life as. When David first arrives at the hotel, he chooses a lobster. An unusual choice, as the Hotel Manager (Olivia Colman) says,

"I must congratulate you. The first thing most people think of is a dog, which is why the world is full of dogs. Very few people choose an unusual animal, which is why they are endangered. A lobster is an excellent choice."

David's reasoning is sound, and clearly, he's thought quite a bit about it,

"A lobster... Because lobsters live for over 100 years. Are blue-blooded like aristocrats. And stay fertile all their lives. I also like to see very much, I water-ski and swim, quite, well since I was a teenager."

David's reasoning for wanting to be a lobster tells us quite a bit about him. For one, he had an answer ready for the Hotel Manager, almost before she asked, suggesting he had often thought about what he would be if he remained single the rest of his human life. That's a curious thing to ponder, considering he has recently divorced. Perhaps one of the reasons for the divorce was his pessimistic outlook on the relationship, preparing for the worst, and life as a lobster, as it were.

David also clearly values longevity. He has no interest in dying, even if it means being alone for 100 years, which you see in his lack of urgency in finding a partner at points in the film. David has set some high standards for himself as well. His interest in the blue blood of lobsters suggests he turns his nose up at possible romantic partners. Finally, his wish to stay fertile all his life means that David will hold out hope to find someone he truly wants to be with, whether that's as a human or as a lobster.

The Characters In The Lobster Speak Using Yorgos Lanthimos' Unique Speech Style

The Favourite And Poor Things Have Similar Dialogue

The characters in Yorgos Lanthimos movies often speak the same way. It's a speech style that's somewhat alien and robotic. It's highly exposition-heavy dialogue, not necessarily about the plot but about the way the characters are feeling. It's a difficult way to write dialogue, but Lanthimos is an ace at it. I think that the funniest parts of Lanthimos' films come from characters plainly stating how they're feeling, often without considering how their words may offend those present.

This manner of speaking serves another function in The Lobster beyond being comedic. In a society where relationships have been standardized and removed from all romance and feelings, why would people speak any differently? When the only thing important in finding a partner is surface-level similarities, it doesn't matter if the words you speak are devoid of emotion and restraint. I'm sure most people have thought about how nice it would be to say what they're really feeling, but life may get a whole lot more aggravating if everyone was doing it.

Even the most shocking scenes of Poor Things are purposefully undercut with Lanthimos' specific style of dialogue. The Favourite, one of Lanthimos' few grounded movies, still uses this speech style to great effect. This dialect does not eschew the "show don't tell" rule of filmmaking because what the characters say doesn't move the plot along; it just gives an insight into the roiling turmoil of their minds, fleshing out the characters, and making them that much more enjoyable to watch.

The Lobster Is A Black Comedy Not A Romantic Comedy

Yorgos Lanthimos Is Not Interested In The Love Between His Characters

Some people may consider The Lobster a romantic comedy. I, however, do not. And not just because it sounds absurd to call a movie that has a scene of a man courting a woman while another woman screams hysterically at his feet after a botched suicide attempt, a "romantic comedy". The Lobster is an absurdist, dark comedy about the actual idea and societal structures of romance. It only cares about the will-they, won't-they of any relationship as far as it concerns whether someone is turned into an animal or not. The actual feelings between any two characters are incidental.

There is no romance in The Lobster. Instead, there is all kinds of sex, lust, and wanting. Sometimes people hug. But this film is not about romance. It's about what people are willing to give up to have a relationship, even if that means irreparably changing a part of themselves.

Colin Farrell And Rachel Weisz's Characters Escape To The City At The End Of The Lobster

David And The Short-Sighted Woman Flee To A Diner

At the end of The Lobster, David and the Short-Sighted Woman (Rachel Weisz) escape from the hotel and the Loners, to spend their lives together as a couple. They flee across the wilderness until they come to the city that the Loners would often walk to for covert missions. There, they should be able to live normally as long as they stay together. No one from the hotel visits the city and the Loners have been mostly killed or captured. There's just one thing left for David to do.

Earlier in the movie, the leader of the group, the cleverly named Loner Leader (Léa Seydoux), blinds the Short-Sighted Woman when she discovers her and David's relationship. In retaliation, David ties the Loner Leader up and places her in a shallow grave where wild dogs (courtesy of the hotel) eat her alive. Real romantic, this film. However, the whole reason David and the Short-Sighted Woman began a relationship was because they were both short-sighted. It's one of the surface-level aspects of compatibility the society teaches.

Now the Short-Sighted Woman is the Blind Woman, so David believes he needs a new way to connect. He walks into the bathroom and pulls out a knife that he shakily puts to one of his eyes. David hesitates for a while before the camera cuts to the Short-Sighted Woman waiting at the table, and waiting, and waiting, before the film ends.

What The Lobster Really Means To Me

The Lobster Asks What Is Important In A Relationship

The Lobster is a complicated movie and though I really enjoy it, I'll admit that Lanthimos' film takes a few viewings to get the feel of. But once you get used to the dialogue and dreamy setting, the message is a lot easier to interpret. Dating and romance can feel very superficial, particularly in this modern age with apps that have canned questions, posed photos, and carefully curated profiles. I see The Lobster as an extension of that artificial form of romance.

If we're standardizing dating and love to three fun facts and five photos, is that much better than a world where you find a partner based on having similar limps in your gait? Do you need to relate to your partner in every respect? Can you only have a connection with a blind person if you yourself are blind? Lanthimos asks these questions and though they may sound absurd, I don't think they're too far off from using a sliding mechanism on a dating app to select the exact perfect location range of people you want to date.

The Lobster leaves its ending open to interpretation. David could have blinded himself, essentially giving into society and the hotel's rule about being "compatible". He may have fled the diner and left the Short-Sighted Woman. It would be his M.O. — fleeing seems to be David's answer to most conflicts.

A hopeless romantic at heart, I like to imagine a third option for The Lobster. David didn't blind himself, and he still walked back to the Short-Sighted Woman. He's learned that you can have a relationship even if you're not exactly the same. You can be in love with someone different from you. In my interpretation, that's when the romantic comedy movie can start.

The Lobster

R

Comedy

Drama

Romance

The Lobster is a dystopian romantic comedy set in a world where single people are forced to find a mate within 45 days or be turned into an animal. The film follows David, a recently divorced man, who checks into a hotel where he has 45 days to find a new partner, or else he will be transformed into a lobster.

Director

Yorgos Lanthimos

Release Date

October 15, 2015

Cast

Colin Farrell , Rachel Weisz , Olivia Colman , Lea Seydoux , Michael Smiley

Runtime

119 Minutes

Budget

4000000.0