Triangle of Sadness is an anomaly in the world of Oscar nominees— most nominees are deep and serious movies, generally focused on some sort of social commentary. Maybe a tearjerker here and there, but they’re all thoughtful and focused on making a point through weighty storytelling and acting. Triangle of Sadness, on the other hand, is a comedy. A dark comedy, one that makes social commentary, but a comedy nonetheless, and is a refreshing change to the Best Picture lineup. This Palme d’Or winner written and produced by Ruben Östlund gives its important message a new vessel to reside in as it considers the effects of privilege and power.

Triangle of Sadness tells the story of Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean) as they venture through their relationship struggles on a luxury yacht. The movie is broken into three acts: Carl & Yaya, The Yacht, and The Island, and each takes place primarily in one location respectively: an expensive restaurant, a luxury cruise, and a deserted island, respectively.

In part 1, Carl & Yaya the audience gets a look into the protagonist’s complicated romantic relationship. The two are models, though Yaya is far more successful than Carl, and this part revolves around an argument the two have over dinner about who will pay.

In Part 2: The Yacht, Carl and Yaya are put on the back burner as the audience learns more about the other passengers and crew of the luxury yacht the two are on. Important figures include the Captain (Woody Harrelson), Dimitry (Zlatko Burić), and the Chief of Staff, named Paula (Vicki Berlin). The period on the yacht culminates in a large dinner scene that leads to a combination of seasickness and food poisoning— it wouldn’t be recommended to watch this section if you don’t enjoy prolonged scenes of projectile vomiting.

Eventually, some passengers and crew end up on a deserted island, which is when Part 3 starts: The Island. The group meets Nelson (Jean-Christophe Folly) and Abigail (Dolly De Leon), the latter of which who was a cleaning lady on board. Abigail, the only one among them who knows how to survive in the environment they’re in, quickly forms a matriarchy and takes control of the situation, which is when things start going downhill.

This movie is a worthwhile watch, though it can be somewhat hard to track at points with its quick cuts from scene to scene and very little context for how the characters got there. The actors all portrayed their characters wholeheartedly, and while gross, the vomiting scene was intricate and masterfully pulled off by writer and director Ruben Östlund.

I do wish that Carl and Yaya were more prominently involved in the second act— they do come back somewhat in the third, but in the second, it’s as if the movie’s forgotten who its main characters are— not to mention that there is little to no explanation for what happened to everyone else on the boat who didn’t make it to the island. Other than these minor complaints, it was two hours and twenty minutes well spent.