The Lobster · written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou · 2015

David wakes with his trousers still attached to the cuff, fixes his hair, and gives Bob water.

Scene 18 of 123 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct two

Begins 14 min into a 1:28 film

The story so farBefore scene 18

After his wife leaves him, David has 45 days to find a partner at a hotel or become an animal; he escapes, falls for a shortsighted loner, and must decide whether to surrender his sight so they can stay together.

Scenes 1–15
David moves from his broken home into the hotel, where couplehood is imposed as the norm.
Just before
Scene 15
The Hotel Manager explains that David may become an animal, and he chooses a lobster before staff cuff his hand behind his back.
Scene 16
David struggles to manage toothpaste and brush his teeth while his hand remains cuffed behind him.
Scene 17
David wrestles his trousers off around the belt and frees one leg after considerable effort.
Scene 18
This scene

18INT. ROOM 101 - MORNING

David sleeps in his underwear. He has managed to take his trousers off, which are still attached to his wrist by the bracelet. He is woken up by the music of a very well-known love song, “A Groovy Kind of Love” by Phil Collins. He looks at his watch. David gets up and sits on the side of the bed. He fixes his hair with both hands, lifting up the trousers on his wrist as he does so. He puts some water in a plate for the dog.