Triangle of Sadness is a satirical black comedy that opens on the world of modeling, specifically male modeling, giving insight into how brands sell themselves to you. Cheaper brands (like H&M) have smiling models welcoming you, but the higher-end you go (like Balenciaga), the less the model smiles. Until they basically scowl at the person looking at the advertisement, looking down at them. This scene sets the stage for a film that is about class and power.
Modeling is one of the few industries where women typically earn more money than men. One of the models in the first scene is Carl (played by Harris Dickinson), and he’s in a relationship with Yara (played by the late Charlbi Dean), one that began to try and increase both of their social media followings. Though, Carl might desire something a little more real. He picks a fight about the bill Yara ignored and forced him to pay and continues the fight even after they’ve left the restaurant. These scenes were inspired by a real-life fight writer/director Ruben Östlund got into about equality, including the act of shoving the money in the elevator shaft.
But this is the set-up, the preamble, the real action begins when the couple finds themselves on a yacht filled with the uber-wealthy and those hired to serve them. The couple’s trip is comped for their “influence,” but it is clear the others are paying obscene amounts to be there. We get this right from the establishing shot of the yacht, which is of a helicopter drop to the boat of a prized resource: Nutella. And also, because the above deck crew basically have a ruckus chant about how they’re going to get “Money”, aka they are prepared to be degraded for the duration of the trip because they are expecting hefty tips. At the same time as their “chant,” the below-deck crew are going about their work, showing classism (and racism as the above-deck crew is predominantly white and below-deck POC) even withing the workers.
Triangle of Sadness won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Cannes has honoured a variety of films with this honour over the years, and this one isn’t an outlier by any means, but there is a sequence on the yacht, one that goes on for a significant amount of time that, despite being telegraphed, did still manage to surprise me just by its length that it didn’t turn voters’ stomachs. If you get queasy, you may want to close your eyes for this scene, or have a bucket at hand. It’s telegraphed, so you’ll know when it’s coming.
One last thing on the yacht, is when you watch the film, take notice of the yacht itself, as she is a celebrity in her own right. She is the Christina O, the yacht once owned by Aristotle Onassis.
The film is broken into parts, and one of the major players in the final part is only a background player on the yacht. Dolly De Leon, who has been receiving a string of nominations for her performance as Abigail, doesn’t become a focus until the latter part of the film, at which point not only does she take a role, but a commanding one. One that also effortlessly breaks down the power dynamics at play and ties things up with Carl’s initial fight with Yara about equality.
Woody Harrelson appears in the film in a small but significant role as the captain of the yacht, but Dolly De Leon is rightfully getting most of the attention for the performance she turned in for her work in this film.
Triangle of Sadness is currently theatres and available where you rent On Demand.
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