Triangle of Sadness pitches itself as a sophisticated comedy with “biting” satire about elitist attitudes during class wars.  However, the jabs made by writer/director Ruben Östlund are nothing more than the filmmaker taking hackneyed swings at low-hanging fruit for a really, really long time.

Following similar beats found in the filmmaker’s equally overrated Force Majeure, Östlund takes a fairly straightforward premise that incorporates awkward yet relatable personality flaws to build an initial conflict, and then pushes elements of this set-up as far as he can to an obnoxious degree.  The satire, primarily directed at entitled socialites, is obvious and the attempts to make these characters look foolish using juvenile humour are desperate.

Finally, Triangle of Sadness cops out by eventually painting itself into a corner, positioning the final third of the movie as a survivalist tale where the rich have to depend on “the help” to live.  How original!

**********

For more information on the festival, visit the official TIFF webpage here.

Do You Tweet? Follow These Tweeple:

TIFF: @TIFF_NET
Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie