I remember the old school term "schlock jock" made famous by Howard Stern. You either love Stern or hate him. Maybe there is a new term, "schlock helmer" or something.
It seems many directors today -- Julia Dorournau, Rob Zombie to name a couple -- exist in part to test the moviegoer's appetite for the disgusting, Add Triangle of Sadness's Ruben Östlund to that list. For reasons I can't discern I avoided his critically-acclaimed Force Majeure, and didn't even bookmark The Square.
Am I glad I watched this wears-it-on-his-sleeve critique of Privilege? Yes, and no. Yes, because, ultimately it is a well-made film, and has an important point to make. That point being, in a nutshell, Rich People Suck. No, because the seemingly endless second reel barf-fest (sorry if that is a spoiler) is really, really disgusting.
Basic plot is a group of way too rich a-holes are vacationing aboard a luxury yacht. This includes two horrible Millennials who spend the first third of the film arguing about who is going to pay for dinner. In Paris. Yeah...
The marvelous Woody Harrelson plays the wasted skipper of said luxury yacht who may or may not be the most "normal" person aboard. Think Reality TV's Below Decks with an artistic point to make. At one point one of the Dowagers asks if they are going to put up the Sails. That tells you most of what you need to know about Ostlund's his characters.
Except, in the last third of the film things take a very interesting left turn. Without spoiling this wonderful section of the film I will say it is "Lord of the Flies for the One Percent". There is even a "twist ending" that does not remind one at all of M. Night Shyamalan.
Enjoy, or, well, something.
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