Kinds of Kindness
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
- Released:
- Runtime: 164 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Stars: Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Elton LeBlanc, Mamoudou Athie, Victoria Harris, Hunter Schafer, Emma Stone, Merah Benoit, Krystal Alayne Chambers, Ja'Quan Monroe-Henderson, Susan Elle, Nathan Mulligan, Christian M. Letellier, Julianne Binard, Lance Michael Weller, Susan Elle, Tessa Bourgeois
- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Comments
- PotassiumMan - 3 July 2024
Lanthimos doubles down on cruelty and descends this time into brutality
If you know Yorgos Lanthimos' uniquely clinical and off-kilter style of filmmaking, then here you will find him not only adhering to, but fortifying his trademark strangeness in producing three different stories of tortured and eccentric depravity. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Hong Chau all flourish playing dissimilar characters in each tale, alternating between victim and perpetrator, between innocent bystander and co-conspirator, between normal person and degenerate.
Watching this rich acting lineup shift between these contrasting personas is quite the experience, even if the film's length makes some chapter stand out more than others. Some symbolism lingers on. A broken tennis racquet fits right in with the prevailingly derelict milieu. Overall, it's surprisingly fast-paced, but the first tale is the least memorable, perhaps because it's overshadowed by two meatier, more vicious tales that follow. It was almost as if Lanthimos was just getting warmed up for his true descent into his archetypal cynicism and bitterness, in jet black form.
While his past films were merely cold and brusque in their mindset, this time Lanthimos delves at times into cold-bloodedness. This time, squeamish viewers really do have to be warned to proceed with caution. What follows is a challenging and markedly less fancy blend of tragedy and comedy that we've seen from this director, but one that takes his harshness just one step further into the abyss. Recommended to devoted fans, but with everyone else, highly touch and go. - philmoore2008 - 3 July 2024
Yorgos is a master
This first story stars Plemons as a man who is asked by his boss to deliberately get in a car accident and kill a guy. He also meets a young woman played by Emma Stone that also gets an accident. Margaret Qualley plays a woman who walks around half naked and hangs out wife Dafoe. The themes running through this story are free will and sex. The next story Plemons plays a man who has a wife that is lost out at sea played by Emma Stone. He and his friends watch a sex video with the four of them banging each other which i thought was hilarious. She comes back but suspects she is not his wife and gets her to cut off a finger and take out her liver. This story has not giving up on love and cannibalism themes. The final story is a sex cult with Emma Stone and Plemons and they try find the perfect candidate where they find twins played by Margaret Qualley. I really loved this film and Lanthomis is becoming one of my favourite directors right now. The themes he explores and off kilter humour is very interesting and he is certainty unique. If you love his movies you will love this. - ethanbresnett - 1 July 2024
Absurd in the best possible way
Kinds of Kindness is such a bizarre, absorbing, and impressive piece of cinema and potentially one of Lanthimos' more out there films if you can believe such a thing.
It tells three separate tales that are each absurd and dark and humorous, united only by a core cast and similar themes. They are tales that on the face of them are just intriguing and weird, but will have you sat in your chair as the credits roll sifting through the pieces to assign meaning to it all. It makes for a very fun experience, which is heightened significantly by the outstanding cast.
Jesse Plemons is the highlight as he so often is, acting as the male lead across the three stories. He brings something different to each performance and creates such distinct and memorable characters. Lanthimos' favoured muse Emma Stone is likewise superb, bringing such freedom to her roles much as she did in Poor Things. The brilliance continues as we are treated to excellence from Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau and others. It's so great to see a director bringing the best out of his actors in such unique ways, largely due to the curious scripts which inspire such brilliance in their delivery.
A film such as this will likely not appeal to some, as the plots and characters are all very particular, and the more absurd elements may turn many off. However the split into three distinct stories softens the runtime, and the performances shine so strongly, making Kinds of Kindness an absolute treat in my opinion. It is one of those films that will get inside your head and have you thinking about it for a while, which is always fun. - ntinoskostas-30035 - 31 May 2024
A Truly Surreal Experience
Lanthimos presents, through his unique perspective, (not only) three different kinds of kindness. Kindness as manipulation, control, inability to accept, obsession, submission, dependence, and greed. These are the only connecting threads between the three stories. These different kinds of kindness challenge, in every way-allegorically, surrealistically, and literally-the (problematic) structure of society. The constant extremities are all part of a sick human behavior, a sick social mentality. Once again, Lanthimos and Filippou do not provide a clear interpretation of what we see; everything has multiple interpretations, both hidden and apparent. Jesse Plemons emerges as the ideal protagonist, fitting seamlessly into the distinct directorial style meticulously crafted by Yorgos Lanthimos due to his exceptional performance(s).
