"In the yacht, cleaning lady. In here, captain."

The comparisons to The Menu feel inevitable and obvious, but Triangle of Sadness really is a smarter execution of the same ideas, huh? I mean, don't get me wrong, this movie is still pretty simple-minded in its class critique, but Ruben Östlund at least has a distinct cinematic voice. I kind of love how the three chapters feel completely distinct, going from a relationship drama to a dark comedy to basically an episode of Survivor. And even if Östlund's script is obvious (which it is), his cast is fantastic: a lot has been made of Dolly de Leon's performance (her Oscar snub stings, especially with the film being embraced by other categories), and she's really superb as she commands the third chapter; Harris Dickinson is lowkey hilarious in this, scowling at anything and everything that happens around him, like a perturbed bird; the late Charlbi Dean has an understated groundedness about her that is really effective; the supporting cast all have their own brief moment in the sun, including Woody Harrelson's extended cameo, Amanda Walker and Oliver Ford Davies as the ill-fated grenade manufacturers ("Is this one of ours?"), Sunnyi Melles and Zlatko Burić, Henrik Dorsin, Iris Berben, Vicki Berlin, Jean-Christophe Folly, and even the bit players like Alicia Eriksson and Mia Benson ("The sails are dirty").

As my first Östlund movie, I'm not sure if his brand of pop cynicism is exactly my cup of tea, but for a film as long as this, I can't say I was bored. It's sleek, it's well-made, it's very well-acted, and it manages to be entertaining even as it's making "we live in a society" observations. Take notes, Adam McKay!