On September 12, the screening of the film almanac by Yorgos Lanthimos will start in cinemas «Kinds of Kindness», in which the Greek director continues his collaboration with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley after his previous film «Poor Things». In this review, we’re going to find out what interesting things the expert on weirdness, Lanthimos, has prepared for the audience this time.
Pluses:
each of the stories, to a greater or lesser extent, has some interesting moments; excellent acting by local stars; the film should find a response among fans of the Greek director, especially his early work;
Minuses:
not all of the novels are equally engaging; the film seems too cumbersome and overwhelming, and the narrative is overlong; it is far from clear that the end justifies the means used by Lanthimos;
«Kinds of Kindness»
Genre black comedy, drama, anthology
Director Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Hunter Schafer
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
The new film, the second one this year by the Greek Strange Wave, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is positioned as a triptych-parable consisting of three loosely connected stories. But this is only at first glance. In fact, in addition to the unchanging leads Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe, these allegorical plots have many points of contact, the most expressive of which is a mysterious character named RMF.
The first story is about an office worker, Robert Fletcher, who follows all the instructions of his boss, Raymond, without question. Although no, that sounds too mild — he literally lives by his boss’s instructions. Up to the point where he has to follow instructions on how to eat, have sex with his wife, or cause a fatal car accident. Only Robert is not ready to fulfill such a task, which leads to his immediate dismissal and the further destruction of his life.
The second story tells the story of a distraught policeman, Daniel, who cannot come to terms with the disappearance of his beloved wife, marine biologist Liz, who has gone on another expedition. One day, the man receives great news: Liz was found on one of the islands. However, upon returning home, Daniel begins to suspect that the rescued woman — is not his wife at all.
The final part tells the story of the sect members Emily and Andrew, who listen to their spiritual mentors Omi and Aki in everything and try to find a girl who has the ability to raise the dead.
Getting acquainted with all these completely strange, bizarre and absurd stories suggests opposite reactions — you will either be outraged and irritated if you are not very close to the cinema of Lanthimos, especially the early period, or admire it if it is the other way around.
In his inventive, original metaphors, Lanthimos wraps up, in general, rather banal thoughts that hardly pass for revelations — globally, these are toxic abusive relationships and the theme of free will, which runs like a thin red thread through all three novels. In more detail, we are talking about dependence and the inability to make decisions independently, about unhealthy marital relationships, and about blind worship of dubious ideals (idols?) that will lead to tragic consequences. In other words, in all three cases, we should talk about the unquestioning and at the same time self-destructive obedience of some characters to others.
In fact, a similarly disappointing diagnosis of society, and in a much more interesting way, was made before Lanthimos — the Danish misanthrope Lars von Trier immediately comes to mind. At the very least, the cinematic means of both of them imply continuous discomfort for the viewer, and in «Kinds of Kindness» misanthropy (and in certain moments misogyny) reaches its climax. The question is — how much natural horror is justified in a supposedly black satirical comedy. Or, if we are talking about genre cinema here, how much does the end justify the means?
Hong Chau’s licking of sweat droplets from various people’s navels seems to be the most innocent thing in «Kinds of Kindness»; otherwise, be prepared to look away from the screen in disgust.
In order to broadcast the not-so-great messages of Lanthimos and the screenwriter Efthymis Filippou. One of Emma Stone’s characters, following the example of the yakuza in the action movie «Showdown in Little Tokyo», cuts off her finger and then cuts out her liver. Jesse Plemons does not shy away from taking an example from horror heroes «Jeepers Creepers», who tried to get rid of the bloodthirsty monster by running it over several times with a car. And if that’s not enough horror for you, you get rape, a dog being deliberately wounded, and Willem Dafoe in the nude.
The mockery of the characters and the viewer (which does not necessarily mean a negative characterization of the movie itself) is supported by many static shots, diluted with travelogues or, for example, super-long shots (here, the kiss between Willem Dafoe and Emma Stone is particularly memorable). The disturbing music also sticks in the memory, in particular, when composer Jersey Fendrix hits the same piano key, deliberately causing unpleasant sensations.
In general, the debut novel looks the most interesting, when the viewer is not yet overwhelmed by Lantimos’s bizarre foreign language and the impressive running time of more than 160 minutes. But even this is not the main factor of perception because it is the first story that seems to be the most witty, inventive and exciting. The second one, despite the bloody manipulations with a knife, can make you smile, but only in the context of a black comedy. But the third one is too overwhelming and tiring, so it is probably the most difficult to perceive.
«Kinds of Kindness» is certainly a talented and well-acted movie, with a particularly good performance by supporting actor Jesse Plemons, who won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. However, this is clearly not the best movie in Lanthimos’ filmography, which is also surprisingly uneven.
It’s a surrealistic fantasy about a gloomy reality. A black comedy that evokes more sadness. An incendiary satire that can make you feel bored out of your mind.
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