--- title: "Triangle of Sadness: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/triangle-of-sadness/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/triangle-of-sadness" critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 26 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." --- # Triangle of Sadness (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 65 from 26 reviews: 15 positive, 6 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics lean positive, and the praise clusters on one thing: the film is funny, often crudely so. The captain’s dinner, with its cascade of vomit and worse, is the sequence reviewers return to, and most treat it as a cathartic high point rather than an embarrassment. Woody Harrelson’s Marxist captain and Dolly de Leon in the island section are the performances singled out most often. Östlund’s framing and the precision of his set-pieces draw admiration even from critics who dislike the film. The reservations are about the target. A sizeable minority finds the satire blunt, obvious and pleased with itself: the rich are easy prey, and the film flatters its audience rather than unsettling it. The New York Times and The New Yorker go furthest, judging it complacent and mechanical, and The Guardian finds the third act flabby after the second-act climax. The spread is wide, from festival raves to outright dismissals, which is unusual for a comedy this broadly enjoyed. ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2022. Festival review. The critic calls the film a dark but uproarious provocation and class-war Gilligan’s Island, praising its slick mix of physical and verbal farce along with sharp observations of human behavior under capitalism. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/triangle-sadness-ruben-ostlunds-savage-castaway-satire-finds-humanity-all-sea) ## The AV Club — Tomris Laffly Rating A-. 6 October 2022. Praises it as Östlund’s best yet, a wild, gross, hilarious and incisive satire that shifts sympathies and hits a sweet spot between entertainment and commentary. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/triangle-sadness-review-ruben-ostlund-charlbi-dean-1849622692) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2022. Festival review. Triangle of Sadness is blisteringly funny, narratively intrepid and spitting mad, with pointed satire on the idle super-rich that arrives acutely at Cannes. Its three-part structure and riotous characters deliver an invigorating festival highlight despite lacking subtlety. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/triangle-of-sadness-review-cannes-2022/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2022. Östlund delivers a farcical yet searing satire of the wealthy, with blunt, enjoyable comedy centered on class upheaval after a yacht disaster. The scatological set-piece and grotesque characters provide cathartic, if unsubtle, entertainment. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/triangle-of-sadness/) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2022. Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner is a violently entertaining drama that skewers the rich with extreme, precise satire and dynamic camerawork. The third act on the island is tense and urgent, highlighting inverted hierarchies. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/triangle-of-sadness-movie-review-woody-harrelson-palme-dor-b1035474.html) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/4/4. 26 October 2022. The critic finds the over-the-top satire enjoyable with stomach-churning scenes and visual creativity, though it gestures at big questions on class and gender without bold statements and ends abruptly. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/triangle-of-sadness) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. 28 October 2022. The critic calls it a bold and brilliant scatological Lord of the Flies set among the super-rich, full of explosive gross-out humour and epic schadenfreude that edges into sympathy. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2022/10/28/triangle-sadness-review-noam-chomsky-oligarchs-charlbi-dean/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating 4/5. 28 October 2022. The critic praises the ambitious, consistently entertaining fable about the super-rich that uses one-liners, Woody Harrelson and gross-out gags to show the dehumanising essence of free-market capitalism. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/triangle-of-sadness-review-ruben-ostlund-woody-harrelson-c3cm0jsrt) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 21 May 2022. Festival review. The critic calls it a wildly funny takedown of the super-rich that goes all the way with bodily-fluid humour, praising its clarity, economy and combination of sledgehammer and scalpel satire. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/triangle-of-sadness-2022) ## The i Paper — Geoffrey Macnab Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2022. The absurdist wealth satire offers little new insight on greed but excels through sharp comic observation and strong performances, especially Harrelson and De Leon. It turns into a comedic Lord of the Flies on an island with tongue-in-cheek tone. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/triangle-of-sadness-review-if-you-enjoyed-the-white-lotus-youll-love-this-absurdist-wealth-satire-1938281) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Rating Critic's Pick. 21 May 2022. Festival review. Östlund expands on the formula from 'The Square' with wickedly funny absurdist situations that make the privileged squirm and test ideas about beauty and wealth as currency. The meticulous precision in constructing scenes creates agonizing unease and makes viewers think. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/triangle-of-sadness-review-ruben-ostlund-1235272762/) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2022. The critic describes an erratic new comedy about the indignities of success and a messy satire about wealth that occasionally uses a scalpel but more often a scattergun, stretching length and cranking volume. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/ad1869df-7f80-4335-843d-037c4703c4ed) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 3/5. 29 October 2022. The critic finds Östlund's takedown of the super-rich has more style than substance, with grotesque caricatures and a gloriously cathartic second-act climax that gives way to a flabby third act and an obvious message. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/29/triangle-of-sadness-review-glossy-satire-on-the-ultra-wealthy) ## Los Angeles Times — Glenn Whipp Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2022. The overstuffed satire strains with obvious, blunt critiques of the one percent and excessive vomit sequences that tax patience. It singles out Dolly de Leon's sensational performance as the most memorable element and endorses self-sufficiency in the island section. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-10-06/triangle-of-sadness-review-vomit) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2022. Festival review. The critic finds flashes of caustic insight but wishes for a lighter touch, noting that the laborious satire on capitalism lacks the ironic cool of Östlund’s prior work while praising brisk ensemble acting. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/triangle-of-sadness-cannes-review/5170949.article) ## Film Comment — Chloe Lizotte Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2022. The critic finds the film high on rhetorical acrobatics but lacking the humanist curiosity of Östlund's earlier work, with a heavy narrative hand that makes characters cartoonish and removes room for surprise. The opening modeling-industry vignette stands out for its improvisatory performances and exploration of equality rhetoric versus retrograde power dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/pyramid-scheme/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2022. Festival review. The critic finds the satire disappointingly blunt and glib, self-indulgent with easy digs at wealth and privilege, though the opening and central couple provide some sly humor. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/triangle-of-sadness-cannes-2022-1235146931/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2022. The film shoots fish in a barrel with facile political stances that flatter the art-house audience rather than challenging assumptions, resulting in a mechanical and crass satire. The fine cast, especially Charlbi Dean, lends life to the superficial caricatures amid stiff direction. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/triangle-of-sadness-reviewed-were-on-a-yacht-and-were-puking) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2022. Finds the class satire smug and nihilistic, with broadly drawn characters, though early scenes on models are good; overall a slog with hazardous levels of smug. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/triangle-of-sadness-review-hazardous-levels-of-smug.html) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2022. The critic finds the satire obvious, preening, and complacent, with surface cleverness that fails to expose hypocrisies and instead advertises the status quo. He singles out the meandering plot and visual polish as elements that fool some viewers but ultimately make it a very bad movie. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/movies/triangle-of-sadness-review.html) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating B+. 9 September 2022. The critic finds Östlund’s class satire fun and ridiculous despite being occasionally blunt and long, praising the director’s framing and shot composition as a highlight. [Read the review](https://collider.com/triangle-of-sadness-review-ruben-ostlund-woody-harrelson/) ## Deadline — Stephanie Bunbury Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2022. Festival review. The film is a bitter, clever satire that delivers a mission statement on how equality does not and cannot exist. It singles out the rigid hierarchy of shipboard life and the behavior of the ultra-wealthy survivors for sharp observation. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2022/05/triangle-of-sadness-cannes-film-review-ruben-ostlund-woody-harrelson-1235029662/) ## /Film — Rafael Motamayor Rating 8/10. 21 May 2022. Festival review. The critic calls the film an utterly hilarious satire in three acts with biting class commentary that explodes into chaos. They single out Woody Harrelson's standout performance as the Marxist captain for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/870835/triangle-of-sadness-review-a-biting-and-hysterical-satire-cannes/) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating 4/5. 12 October 2022. Festival review. Östlund delivers a deliciously vicious satire that takes a sledgehammer to the global elite in three increasingly satisfying chapters, with outrageously funny sequences like the Captain's Dinner standing out. The targets may be low-hanging fruit and the critique unsophisticated, but the gags remain deliriously funny. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/kviff-2022-triangle-of-sadness) ## The Playlist — Matthew Monagle Rating C-. 21 May 2022. Festival review. The critic finds the broad class satire faltering and overly cynical, with underdeveloped ideas and tedious stretches. They single out the physical comedy in the capsizing sequence as one of the few redeeming elements amid the heavy-handed messaging. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/triangle-of-sadness-review-cannes-20220521/) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 5.3. 3 October 2022. The critic views the film as a mostly tedious and surface-level class satire that lacks novelty or depth, though it is entertaining at times and features strong performances from Dickinson and de Leon. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/ruben-ostlund/triangle-of-sadness-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/triangle-of-sadness.md