Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos made a strong impression with his first three films, Kinetta, Dogtooth, and Alps, which fused a naturalistic, meticulous style with the kind of bizarre world-building that very few filmmakers can attempt, much less pull off. Despite those movies being in Greek, they became essential viewing for actors, who were intrigued by their sense of sincerity and exploration, particularly Dogtooth, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
That partially explains how, for The Lobster, his first film in English, Lanthimos was able to secure the likes of Colin Farrell, John C. Reilly, and Rachel Weisz. Of course, there’s also the fact that it’s a brilliant, bizarre, and emotionally bold investigation into a world both unlike and (very much) like our own: single people must go to a hotel to find their mate, and if they fail, they are turned into an animal. Above, watch Farrell’s character, David, decide what animal he’d like to be turned into. His reasoning seems sound.