“The Square” – More than four sides [MOVIE REVIEW]
Claes Bang in the Square, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
“The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.” So reads the inscription on the work of art around which this complex narrative flows.
Ruben Östlund, as director and writer of The Square, has stated that he was interested in exploring the topics of responsibility and trust, income disparity, and the relationship between the powerful and the powerless. These issues may be the underpinnings of this film and certainly enter into the story but what he has accomplished is both more and less than the above. Certainly the juxtaposition of beggars with the rich in the center city is glaring but more importantly the narrative seems to revolve much more around the question of “engagement.” At what point do you become engaged with what is happening around you and what is the causal effect.
Christian is the curator of a contemporary art museum in Stockholm beautifully housed in a former Royal Palace. Handsome, smooth, caring father of two young daughters, upper class with a command of the contemporary art market, he is seemingly at the pinnacle of his life. He is most excited about the future exhibit entitled “The Square” whose installation is being prepped, although, as his advertising experts point out, the general concept is too soft, overdone, and not edgy enough to arouse and “engage” the general public. Their eventual marketing video, brilliant, excoriating and beyond controversial brings enormous attention to the project, enraging the general public and intriguing the media, raising questions of free speech, responsibility and what it takes to “engage.”
But starting shortly after we are introduced to the suave, golden Christian, events unfold that that leave him unhinged and unanchored. Acting in good conscience to help a damsel in distress, he realizes he’s been duped and robbed. In an effort to recoup his property, he abandons good sense and personal responsibility. But although his actions, spontaneous, clever and lacking foresight, are certainly to blame for what ultimately happens to him, it can be argued that his seemingly thoughtless deeds are still tied into Östlund’s overall theme of “engagement.” Emphasizing the contradictions in Christian’s development, we see him behave charitably toward some of the homeless he encounters juxtaposed with his arrogance and cynicism in refusing to acknowledge the collateral damage he has caused in the life of one immigrant child.
In cleverly using the backdrop of contemporary art, a field in which most of us feel lost and, again that theme, disengaged, he has set up the characters as though they are a giant performance piece. Each vignette could have been devised by early Chris Burden accompanied by an Ai Weiwei installation. What is the relationship between “engaged” and “disengaged?” Östlund illustrates this concept repeatedly in Christian’s life and actions as well as in the art choices at the museum. Without spoiling the impact, nothing says more about “engagement” than the events at the museum’s black tie fundraiser.
Terry Notary in the Square, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Claes Bang as Christian is a revelation; handsome and charming, he is the very personification of Noblesse Oblige, until he isn’t. More to the point, why doesn’t Bang have a larger footprint on the international stage?
Elizabeth Moss is delightfully unhinged as a sexual victim/predator interested in Christian; and Terry Notary as the artist Oleg is awe-inspiring. Dominic West makes an appearance as an artist but the character is so ill-defined as to be a head-scratcher.
“The Square” occasionally moves at a glacial pace and the sequencing often seems chaotic but it’s irrelevant to the overall sensibility of the theme, one that keeps you watching (and engaged) and will stimulate discussion long after the film ends. Stay with it, it’s definitely worth it
In Swedish and English with English subtitles.
Opening Friday October 27 at the Landmark in West Los Angeles and the Arclight Hollywood