LFF 2015: Colin Farrell Is Our Lobster

David (Farrell) is a middle-aged divorcee who we meet as he checks into a sinister country hotel with his dog – soon revealed to be his brother. In this bizarre vision of the near future, all single people are sent to the rigidly run institution where they’re given forty-five days to find a suitable partner. Should they fail, they’ll be transformed into an animal of their choosing and left to fend for themselves. David opts for a lobster.

For Farrell, signing on took huge faith in his director. “I loved reading the script, but I couldn’t imagine how anyone could bring it to life or deliver those lines. They were so emotionally muted and the characters’ relationships so detached. Of course, when I saw the hotel where we were shooting, the landscape and the costumes, it began to take form”. The result is a drily hilarious, often excruciating watch that challenges our increasing obsession with companionship.

“You don’t fight it, you just go with it”, co-star Michael Smiley told Empire. “I read it, thought I’d got my head around it, read it again… and realised I didn’t understand it! A futuristic folk tale is how I’d describe it.”

Some, however, took a lot less convincing. “I wanted to work with Yorgos. I thought his last two films were works of art”, Rachel Weisz told Empire. “It’s hard to find people that talented, but I couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like”. She offered her own way to categorise the film, too. “It’s sci-fi, but there’s no special effects, explosions, make-up. It’s high concept, low tech – just the power of his personal imagination”.

The Lobster is released in UK cinemas on Friday 16 October.

*​Reporting by Alastair Livesley, with thanks to Go Think Big and O2. For amazing work opportunities go to Go Think Big.co.uk. *