Kinds Of Kindness (2024)

It is time, once again, for director Yorgos Lanthimos to present a dark, and darkly comedic, film for fans to be equal parts entertained and repelled by, helped again by writer Efthimis Filippou. If you've ever wondered just how much Yorgos Lanthimos could fit into a film directed and co-written by Yorgos Lanthimos then this might just definitively answer that. ALL the Lanthimosity is here, and it runs through three equally bizarre tales that are presented in 164 minutes of "kindness".

Don't take this the wrong way, but there's not much point in covering the three stories presented here in great detail. I initially considered it, viewing them as separate from one another, but then I came to the conclusion that they are all basically the same story told in slightly different ways. People have their loyalty tested, and they are often in pursuit of someone they believe will fix anything that has suddenly gone wrong in their life. There's also at least one moment of wince-inducing violence.

There are four main cast members - Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Mamoudou Athie, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau - used to portray various characters throughout the three tales, with three of these performers having already worked so well with Lanthimos in Poor Things. Everyone seems to put complete trust in their director, giving the kind of strangely mannered performances that run through the entire Lanthimos filmography, but it's Plemons who feels like the newcomer excelling in a way that will surely see him added to the core group of regulars.

The script is about as odd as anything else that Lanthimos and Filippou have given us, and I am aware of what I am measuring it against. Few things are fully explained, which can lead to a small amount of irritation, but also one or two brilliant surprises, and there's never a feeling of this being in anything close to the real world. It's a Lanthimos world, although this time he seems to have applied a filter to his work that mixes in some David Lynch and Rod Serling. It's a big gamble, and if you don't like the earliest scenes then you are unlikely to enjoy any of it, but it will satisfy those who may have been worried about recent successes softening the edges of the director.

For something so lengthy and strange, there's not actually that much more to say about it. It's . . . lengthy and strange. I think it's a bit over-indulgent, but I was also happy to be entertained and bewildered by every minute of it. It also made me want to revisit his past few movies, which kind of shows how well it fits in with his developing filmography, despite the anthology format making it feel like a bit of a departure from what he has done previously.

Some directors give their fans what they want and it then turns out that they wanted something a bit different. I don't think that is the case here. Lanthimos has found a fanbase receptive to his art, which has afforded him more opportunities to make more of it, and the end result is a win win. I am already growing impatient to see what he delivers next.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share