Triangle of Sadness: A Gross Yet Exhilarating Film

Justin Angarone ‘26 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Triangle of Sadness is a surprisingly unique and fun film with an action-packed second act that some audiences may find gross or exciting. The film may be divisive since the climax features many gross images of the passengers on the yacht throwing up from food poisoning. However, this thrilling twenty-minute scene makes for one of the most unique scenes of any film released this year. 

Triangle of Sadness is divided into three different and distinct acts. The first act follows the characters of Yaya (Charlbi Dean Kriek) and Carl (Harris Dickinson) as they navigate their relationship struggles and the problems that come with being in the modeling industry. The second act begins when Yaya and Carl are invited to socially promote on a yacht. This is where the film introduces the concept of wealth disparity and how people in different class systems treat each other. The wealthy people on the yacht treat the staff on the boat horribly. The main character Carl even gets one staff member fired for “flirting with his girlfriend” even though it was clear he was not. The wealthy people on the yacht are also made out to be the villains in the story once the audience is made aware of how they have earned their money. This is shown by the elderly couple whose wealth comes from making grenades for war. 

The most exhilarating scene of the film occurs during the climax at the end of the second act which involves twenty minutes of people vomiting, going to the bathroom, and overall destroying the entire yacht with their sea sickness. The dialogue between Captain Thomas (Woody Harrelson) and Dimitry (Zlatko Burić) makes this scene even more comedic and over the top. This entire turning point for the film is one of the best scenes in any film released this year and Woody Harrelson’s extremely comedic performance during not only this scene but the entire second act will hopefully make him a front-runner for the Academy Awards this year. 

The third act of the film takes place entirely on a deserted island and serves as a resolution to help resolve all of the chaos that occurred during the chaotic second act. On this island, the audience is able to discover new information about each character. This is especially true for the character of Abigail (Dolly De Leon) who is a member of the yacht’s cleaning staff that all the wealthy people dismiss at first. However, once she proves how resourceful and helpful she is on the deserted island, the wealthy people grow closer to her. 

Triangle of Sadness is unlike any movie released this year and is a refreshingly unique film that thoroughly explores the ways in which people of different classes treat each other. Some may find the third act boring since the climax of the film occurs during the second act, but screenwriter and director Ruben Östlund uses the third act as a cleverly executed character study. Hopefully, more films like Triangle of Sadness will take bold and rare creative risks like Östlund does because the absurdness of the film made it an entertaining theatrical experience.