When a gifted director ditches their native tongue and starts working in English, it can be a fraught process. For every Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, there's a Wong Kar-wai or Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose career still hasn't recovered since he parlayed the Oscar triumph of his 2006 drama "The Lives of Others" into the dismal Johnny Depp comedy "The Tourist."
There are no such problems in "The Lobster," Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos' confident English-language debut — any viewer discomfort is likely to be wholly intentional.
This mordant, surreal comedy is set in an alternate reality where coupledom is compulsory. Those who can't find a partner are transformed into animals. Filmed in Ireland with an international cast including Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and Lea Seydoux, the movie nonetheless preserves the distinctive flavor of Lanthimos' earlier Greek-language films, including the Oscar-nominated "Dogtooth."