As so often happens in cinema, this film is eerily similar to The Menu in and both were released in the same year. Unfortunately while this film feels like it has some depth in its first sequence about the two models Carl and Yaya, it goes off the rails later and eventually becomes a very crude treatise against capitalism. The worse part of it is that it doesn’t really seem to care about its characters at all, putting them on and off stage as director Ruben Östlund likes without any sense of continuity. It’s amusing enough to watch but it feels too dumb to be properly considered an arthouse film being so clumsily made and so on the nose.

Boyfriend and girlfriend Carl and Yaya are both models. Carl is conscious that Yaya earns far more as a female model and influencer than him and becomes resentful that she still expects him to pay for her in line with traditional gender roles. Later they both get free tickets on a luxury yacht cruise which Yaya uses as an opportunity to take photos and enhance her social media presence. The other guests are all outrageously rich billionaires, including Russian oligarchs and arms traders, who make ridiculous demands of the staff. The head of staff, Paula, accommodates their demands as much as possible while the captain Thomas is mostly absent, seemingly drunk in his cabin. Eventually a combination of the captain’s indifference, bad weather and the sudden appearance of pirates causes the yacht to sink. The survivors, a mix of the rich passengers and the crew, are stranded on an island. Due to the need to forage for food, the balance of power immediately shifts as the rich guests have no survival skills to speak of.

The first part of the film featuring only Yaya and Carl is far and away the most sophisticated as Carl confronts Yaya about her seemingly pretending not to see the bill after dinner. This brings into mind complex issues like gender roles, the shallowness of the model industry, how difficult it is to talk honestly about money in a relationship, and so on. Yet once the two make it onto the luxury yacht, none of that matters any longer. It’s all about mocking the absurd demands and expectations of the ultra rich and while that is certainly entertaining and funny, there’s nothing deep or sophisticated about it. Having the captain turn out to be an American Marxist while the Russian oligarch turns out to be a capitalist who drunkenly exchange quotes from historical figures is already the smartest thing the film can offer and that is not really very smart at all. During this whole sequence, Carl and Yaya are essentially passive observers to the antics of the ultra rich and don’t react or provide their own commentary at all. They become important again after the yacht sinks but at that point, it’s pretty obvious that the director is more interested in the scenario than character development and so we have no reason to be emotionally invested in any of the characters.

The third sequence is a predictable scenario that introduces a new character to demonstrate how those at the top of the food chain always oppress those at the bottom, even though they were the ones who used to be at the bottom. It’s so uni-dimensional and unambitious. The director has no desire whatsoever to allow any potential for violence even in such a desperate survival situation and even when pirates are involved. It’s one way to keep this as a black comedy instead of letting it turn into a gritty horror film but it’s also so unrealistic. Philosophically this approach also rather undermines the earlier message about capitalism. It suggests this selfishness and the instinct that resources belong to whoever can gather or create them are an essential part of human nature rather than any external system. More likely, it feels like Östlund liked the imagery and the turnaround but didn’t spend much time thinking through the implications.

The worst part of the experience of watching this is that it tricks you into thinking that it’s going to be a sophisticated, in-depth film but turns out to be nothing of the sort. Instead, it’s shallow, doesn’t really care about its characters and not even that funny. It’s kind of fun to watch the ridiculousness of the ultra rich on a yacht and there is some potential in the relationship between Yaya and Carl. Overall though it’s a disappointing film and far inferior to The Menu which explores similar themes.