The Lady, or the Lobster?

The Lobster might be a movie-length rebuke to Pixar's 2014 short â??Lava,â? a colorful children's fable about how only romance can free us from suicidal loneliness. What makes The Lobster so powerful is that its kooky premise is played completely straight. Every bizarre aspect of the fantasy world is treated with unflinching realism: Partners must share a â??defining characteristic,â? like beautiful hair or a limp, and so people mutilate themselves in order to force a match. It's like OKCupid on PCP. This rigid concept of love fits with a world where no other vocationâ??no form of sacrificial, devoted love other than romantic sexual unionâ??is acknowledged.