Time: 164 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Bloody violence, sex scenes, rape, suicide & content that may disturb
Cast:
Emma Stone as Rita/Liz/Emily
Jesse Plemons as Robert/Daniel/Andrew
Willem Dafoe as Raymond/George/Omi
Margaret Qualley as Vivian/Martha/Ruth and Rebecca
Hong Chau as Sarah/Sharon/Aka
Joe Alwyn as a collectibles appraiser/Jerry/Joseph
Mamoudou Athie as Will/Neil/a morgue nurse
Hunter Schafer as Anna
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

I was interested in Kinds of Kindness for the mere fact that it’s the next movie from Yorgos Lanthimos. The main thing I knew was that it was an anthology movie with 3 separate stories in one film, and has a stacked cast, including Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Jesse Plemons. The very divisive reactions had me intrigued, and I’m glad to say that I’m one of the people who liked it.

Kinds of Kindness is made up of three different unrelated stories, most of the main actors are in all three stories playing different roles. This film is actually a bit different from Yorgos Lanthimos’s recent movies with The Favourite and Poor Things. Those movies were definitely odd, but were relatively conventional and mainstream when compared to his earlier work like The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Dogtooth, which were far more misanthropic and twisted. Kinds of Kindness sits at around the halfway point between those two versions of Lanthimos. As such, people who’ve only watched Lanthimos’s last two movies might be in for a shock for how bizarre the movie is, and it might be offputting for some. It delivered pretty much what I expected, though it wasn’t quite as strange as I thought it would be. The vibe is eerie, the dialogue is sharp, there’s some dark humour, and the cringeworthy moments hit exactly as they were intended to. There are also themes that can be seen between the stories including control, love and obsession. Like all anthology movies, Kinds of Kindness has the inevitable problem where some stories are considerably better than others, leading to a somewhat disjointed and uneven experience. I liked the first story which focuses on Jesse Plemons and his controlling boss Willem Dafoe, as well as the second story about Jesse Plemons being convinced that his wife Emma Stone isn’t who she said she is. For me, the third story was the weakest. While I was intrigued with the first two stories throughout their runtime, the third story felt drawn out in parts, despite having its moments. The movie is 2 hours and 45 minutes long, and you especially feel its length in that last story. Looking at this movie as a whole, part of me wonders if one of these stories really could’ve been made into a full feature film, where it would be able to flesh out its ideas, characters and story further. This anthology approach leaves each story feeling a little too shallow and lacking, especially with its themes.

This movie has quite a talented ensemble cast, all giving great performances. Most of the main actors are in all three stories, and they work well in all their different roles. Emma Stone is once again fantastic in her third collaboration with Lanthimos. However, this movie is a real showcase for Jesse Plemons. His performance(s) might be among the best from a Lanthimos movie, and his acting is perfectly on the director’s wavelength. Additionally, there’s some great supporting acting from the likes of Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, and Hunter Schafer.

Yorgos Lanthimos’s direction is top notch as expected. While its not one of his best looking movies, Kinds of Kindness is visually great and definitely has some memorable imagery. I liked the very uneasy atmosphere throughout, helped by the score from Jerskin Fendrix, though it doesn’t quite have the uncomfortable feeling seen in say The Killing of the Sacred Deer. The additional music choices fitted very well in their respective scenes.

Kinds of Kindness is an ambitious, bizarre and intriguing absurdist dark comedy anthology, with great visuals and a stellar ensemble cast. Impressive, though definitely not for everyone.