Colin Farrell spoke every line of his character in monotone as did Rachel Weiss and most of the other characters - the "lisp man" being one of the few exceptions when he got defensive.
Was this unemotional aspect of their characters part of the satire of the totalitarian society they lived in? Or was it their complete disinterest in their individual lives after all the ethos and conventional rules imposed on them?
Thanks in advance.
It's what the director usually does in every one of his movies, Dogtooth probably being the best example.
Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?
I haven't seen the director's other films. I'm sorry to hear that it's a device that he usually uses, implying that it's not a choice dictated by the theme of an individual movie.
The stilted, stiff delivery was obviously a directorial choice and nothing to do with bad acting, which one poster elsewhere suggested. I imagine it can be quite difficult to sustain, when you're an actor who's used to naturalist performance.
It reminded me of the alienation effect (Verfremdungseffekt) used by Bertolt Brecht, the German playwright. I think he used the device to keep the audience on their toes and aware of the political message behind the storyline.
Not a fan of it, myself. Maybe the director's an admirer of Brecht, who knows?
In answer to the OP's question, I imagine it could indeed reflect a kind of generalised stultification on the part of the cowed masses.