--- title: "The Lobster: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-lobster/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-lobster" critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Lobster (2015): what the critics said Critics' score 71 from 14 reviews: 9 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Lobster’s deadpan attack on the pressure to couple up. Praise centres on the absurd premise, the bleak humour and the cast’s refusal to wink at the material. Colin Farrell draws particular approval for his subdued, physically unglamorous performance, while several reviews also find unexpected feeling beneath the stilted exchanges and shocking violence. The rules of this imagined society give critics plenty to recognise about contemporary courtship. Reservations cluster around the second half, where several critics find the writing less focused and the pace slower. The wider disagreement concerns how much warmth survives the film’s chill: Variety finds profound tenderness in the satire, while Den of Geek considers it too aloof and self-satisfied to explore its ideas deeply. The spread runs from strong enthusiasm to qualified disappointment, with even the more doubtful reviews generally acknowledging the strength of the central conceit. ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating B+. 12 May 2016. The demented deadpan comedy creates a fun-house reflection of dating culture through its oppressive dystopia of mandatory coupling. Colin Farrell excels in a frumpy, swagger-free turn as the sad-sack lead, though the satire weakens somewhat after the first hour shifts to the woods. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/colin-farrell-goes-full-on-frumpy-in-the-darkly-deadpan-1798187729) ## Radio Times — Calum Baker Rating 4/5. This chilly, incisive sci-fi satire blends surreal wit and shocking violence in a near-future where singledom is outlawed. The stilted tone may challenge some, but it teases out affecting moments in its study of love’s mechanics. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-wxbz9o/the-lobster/) ## The Telegraph — Film Critic Rating 4/5. 15 October 2015. Lanthimos’s absurdist comedy is like nothing seen before, a post-Tinder Buñuel that jarringly reimagines Colin Farrell and works through mad comedic alchemy with its ensemble cast. It attacks real fallacies about relationships and systems with slicing weirdness that feels emotionally authentic. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/14/the-lobster-review-like-nothing-youve-seen-before/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2015. Festival review. Lanthimos continues his absurdist black comedy-drama with trademark weirdness and stilted dialogue intact despite the bigger budget and cast. Pathos seeps through the unsentimental façade and the film’s committed belief in its dystopian premise. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-lobster-review/5087416.article) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 May 2016. The review commends the film’s tenacious grasp of absurdity and grave intent in satirizing couple-centric society, but notes it remains grim, spiky fare where laughs die quickly. It singles out the central conceit and performances for keeping a straight face while holding the world up to scorn. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/16/the-lobster-and-captain-america-civil-war) ## Little White Lies — Trevor Johnston Rating 3/3/4. 15 October 2015. Lanthimos delivers a dark dystopic satire that proves he retains his radical edge with a marquee cast. The film’s conceptual confidence and singular vision linger, though its drained emotion makes it easier to admire than enjoy. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-lobster) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating ★★★. 15 October 2015. The film is an intriguing but flawed absurdist satire that starts hilariously in its hotel setting but loses focus and bite in the second half. Bradshaw praises the deadpan performances, especially Olivia Colman, and the eerie hotel premise while criticising the loss of rigour and new undeveloped characters. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/15/the-lobster-review-) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 14 May 2015. Festival review. The English-language debut mixes awkward chuckles with sinister chills in its surreal take on relationships and singledom. It engages for much of its runtime but struggles to sustain its sharp writing throughout. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-lobster) ## Empire — Ian Nathan 16 October 2015. The review describes the film as a surreal, Kafkaesque exploration of attraction rules that proves inordinately strange and tiresomely glum but hideously funny in spots. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/lobster-review/) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton 16 October 2015. The critic calls it a brilliantly funny horror film about dating and the difficulties of coupling up. He singles out the original conceit and thorough execution as its strengths. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-lobster-film-review-brilliantly-funny-and-thoroughly-executed-a3091986.html) ## Film Comment — Yonca Talu 20 October 2015. The critic describes the film as a Kafka-esque dystopian parable on romance and estrangement that draws striking parallels to The Trial. It praises the clinical narration and surreal portrait of an Everyman confronting a cold system, noting it achieves greater audience identification than Lanthimos's prior work. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-the-lobster-yorgos-lanthimos/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang 12 May 2016. The critic calls it a hypnotically strange and suggestive dystopian parable executed with rigorous illogic and formal control, praising its witty dismantling of modern courtship and the lead performances by Farrell and Weisz. It notes the film’s tenderness amid cruelty but finds the second act wobbly. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-0513-the-lobster-review-colin-farrell-051316-20160509-snap-story.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Leslie Felperin 15 May 2015. Festival review. The director makes an effortless transition to the big leagues with this hilarious and haunting surreal parable about a world where citizens must find a mate or be turned into animals. It features an eclectic cast and richly rewards viewers with its absurdist comedy and fable elements, though it may disturb some arthouse audiences. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/lobster-cannes-review-795869/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 13 May 2016. The critic praises Lanthimos’s deadpan dystopian comedy as perhaps his masterpiece, highlighting its absurd regulated society where singles must find love or be turned into animals. Farrell and Weisz are singled out for their affecting performances amid the film’s blend of humor and grimness. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/movies/the-lobster-review-colin-farrell-rachel-weisz.html) ## Total Film — Jordan Farley 15 May 2015. Festival review. The piece finds the high-concept satire smart, melancholy and wickedly funny overall but notes it drags in the final act after moving to the woods. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/lobster-reaction-cannes-2015/) ## Variety — Guy Lodge 15 May 2015. Festival review. The review hails the wickedly funny, unexpectedly moving satire of couple-fixated society as a supremely singular Bunuelian fantasy that builds to profound tenderness. It singles out the ingenious lo-fi conceit, ensemble performances, and allegory for superficial contemporary courtship. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/the-lobster-review-colin-farrell-rachel-weisz-1201496633/) ## The Playlist — Oliver Lyttelton Rating A. 10 May 2016. Festival review. The critic describes the film as an uproarious yet deadpan satire on societal constructs, dating mores and power structures that is also a surprisingly moving love story. They single out the impeccable craft, strong performances especially from Colin Farrell, and its status as Lanthimos' most accessible and enjoyable film yet. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-yorgos-lanthimos-moving-gloriously-weird-love-story-lobster-20160510/) ## /Film — Angie Han Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2016. The critic calls it must-see viewing thanks to its pitch-black sense of humor, keen insights into relationships, and aching romanticism. They single out the way the film strips the world down to its essence, revealing itself as tender, hopeful and original beyond its initial satirical premise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/540181/the-lobster-review/) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating 4/5. 7 October 2015. The absurd premise of finding a mate or facing transformation is played to deadpan comic perfection with a superb ensemble. It praises the potent mix of arch humour, shocking violence and perceptive commentary on relationships and society, despite a minor narrative misstep in the woodland section. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-lobster) ## Collider — Talia Soghomonian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2015. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a smart speculative piece with warped dark humor that satirizes society’s obsession with coupledom and procreation, highlighting Colin Farrell’s enthralling performance and the absurdist premise at the hotel. The second half veers into greater absurdity and loses some of its original folly. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-lobster-review-colin-farrell-comedy-rocks-cannes/) ## NME — Olly Richards Rating 3/5. 15 October 2015. The film is a surreal and unpredictable comedy that is extremely funny and rather poignant at times but turns into a less interesting drama after the first half. It singles out Colin Farrell's paunchy, sad comic performance as a highlight while noting the starry cast and refusal to offer obvious answers. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-various-artists-16297-309704) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 2.5/5. 28 September 2015. The review calls it a savagely blunt allegory about societal pressures on love lives and dating, with a strikingly clever premise and quirky world-building. It complains that the film remains too dark and self-satisfied to explore its ideas deeply, resulting in an aloof and cramped experience. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-lobster-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 13 May 2016. The reviewer finds the surreal absurdity of the film has grown on him since its Cannes premiere, appreciating its unique concept and strong performances from Farrell, Weisz, and others. He recommends it for those seeking something bizarre. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2016/05/the-lobster-review-colin-farrell-yorgos-lanthimos-rachel-weisz-video-1201755182/) ## The Wrap — Dave White 13 May 2016. The critic views it as a deeply strange satire of relationships that highlights the absurdity and desperation in the search for love. He praises the chilly, bleakly funny tone and the performances, especially Farrell's. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-lobster-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-lobster.md