"The Square" Review
I distrust people.
This movie asks the question, is it worth it to help others? If you're a cynic, your answer is probably no because people suck. If you're a romantic, the answer is yes because you think you should treat others as you want to be treated. By the end of this nearly two and a half hour exercise (which is far too long for this movie) we aren't provided with any straight answers. Our main character, Christian the art museum curator (deconstructed to perfection through Claes Bang's performance) captures all the douchey nuanced fuckboyness that embodies this specific perspective of contemporary masculinity and plays brilliantly with the theme of hypocrisy. His character promotes the idea of a 4x4 Square where in it everyone is trusted and equal. But he doesn't really put those ideas into practice in his everyday life. It's pretty neat.
Like Ruben Östlund's previous work "Force Majeure", "The Square" is full of extremely awkward moments and humour, and feels generally authentic to how one would react in each given situation if you were those characters. This movie is definitely worth exploring and talking about even though its pacing and length feel sluggish for most of its runtime.