Manager: Ruben Ostlund
artists: Harris Dickinson, Charlby Dean, Dolly De Leon, Woody Harrelson
Year: 2022
Premiere: 17 February 2023
★★★★
Ruben Ostlund stages a bold, unflinching critique that keeps circling back to the power dynamics at play in modern life. After turning the lens on bravado and superficial showmanship in Force Majeure and sending a sharp jolt through the art world with The Square, Ostlund broadens the scope to dissect capitalism, patriarchy, and the myth of a perfect matriarchal utopia. The narrative threads together tax evasion, systemic racism, and the rigid class ladder, all while choreographing a high-spirited cruise through luxury, appetite, and social spectacle. It begins as a visually flamboyant meditation on style and status, then pivots into something leaner and stingier, a satire that looks like a glossy fashion shoot with a brutal, merciless center. Power here is a raw, corrupting force that can bend ethics and laugh at norms, a truth Ostlund makes unmistakably clear as the cast dances through a world where money frames every move and every choice carries an unspoken cost.
Ostlund’s approach remains unmistakably his own: a disjointed rhythm that leans into irony even as it pushes for raw honesty. The film weds meticulous composition with a contrarian voice that delights in turning expectations on their head. The satire lands with the force of a hammer, often delivered with a sly grin or a brutal visual gag. Yet amid the bravado and bravura there is a steady undercurrent: a critique of authority, consumer culture, and the rituals that sustain privilege. The humor is sharp and the timing crisp, but the real punch comes from watching structures of influence crumble under pressure, revealing the fragility and fragility’s mirror: money, status, and power do not guarantee moral clarity. In the end, the film makes no apologies for its nihilistic bite, insisting that absolute power corrupts those who wield it, and that the people who think they control the stage often end up on the floor, tangled in their own excesses.