The Square

An egotistical member of Stockholm's elite negotiates the moral minefield in this endlessly inventive, Palme d'Or-snagging satire. Writer/director Ruben Ostlund follows his international breakthrough Force Majeure with a film that's outlandish, hilarious and surreal yet somehow remains brutally credible. In a serially squirm-inducing performance, Claes Bang plays the chief curator of a major gallery, a self-important but fundamentally decent man whose good deed at the film's beginning sets in motion his downfall. Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West appear in small roles and there's a show-stopping turn from stuntman/choreographer Terry Notary, playing a performance artist who literally goes ape. Ostlund chips away at his protagonist's veneer of respectability with both glee and precision, as he is exposed as a hypocrite, resorts to intimidation and is subjected to escalating humiliations, but there are also attempts to atone and the film resists obvious conclusions. The complex considerations and wealth of targets (political correctness, social media, the art world, advertising - all annihilated) means it can feel unfocused. And with a running time well over two hours, The Square should be exhausting. Instead, it's absolutely riveting.