Deborah Ross

Pure scorn without wit or insight: Triangle of Sadness reviewed

Ruben Ostlund's latest is billed as a ‘satirical black comedy’ but the targets are easy and it doesn’t say anything and I didn’t laugh once

Russian oligarch Dimitry (Zlatko Buric) and his mistress Ludmilla (Carolina Gynning) in Triangle of Sadness. Credit: © Plattform Produktion

The latest film from Ruben Ostlund received an eight-minute standing ovation after its screening in Cannes and also won the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, and this has left me entirely baffled: what, the film I’ve just seen? The one where every scene is far too long? The one billed as a ‘satirical black comedy’ even though the targets are easy and it doesn’t say anything and I didn’t laugh once? That film? I should add, it’s not for the emetophobic.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in