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

David finds a note on his hand directing him to meet at the riverbank and washes it away while checking for witnesses.

Scene 83 of 123 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct two

Begins 1:01 into a 1:28 film

The story so farBefore scene 83

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.
Scenes 16–24
He must find a partner before the 45-day limit turns him into an animal.
Scenes 25–62
He participates in the hunt, attempts a false match, then escapes into the woods.
Scene 69
Shortsighted Woman’s voice-over says she first saw David exercising and thought he seemed presentable.
Just before
Scene 80
At the father’s garden, David invents a family life and professes devotion to Shortsighted Woman, sealing the lie with a kiss.
Scene 81
The Loner Leader praises David’s first day in town, and Shortsighted Woman tightens her grip on his hand.
Scene 82
David traps and slaughters rabbits while female V.O. recites her favorite rabbit recipe and its preparation.
Scene 83
This scene

83EXT. THE WOODS - MORNING

David sleeps. His digital wristwatch alarm beeps and wakes him up. He turns off the alarm, gets up and goes to the river’s edge to wash his face. As he pulls up his shirt sleeves, he sees a phrase written on his hand in biro: “River bank, beside the tree, 11 a.m.” He rubs the note off with water, looking round to see if anyone is watching.