KINDS OF KINDNESS | Review
Yorgos Lanthimos has recently jumped onto the main stage in the cinema. His 2023 Oscar-winning film Poor Things sent our wildest dreams down dark, narrow pathways detailing ignorance and the pursuit of learning through experience. His new film feels a bit different, but not in a bad way.
Kinds of Kindness takes the bill of a triptych-structured film. At times, it feels like an ode to his early works in films like Dogtooth and The Lobster in its raw and dark comedy. It’s a dreamscape spanning three different worlds. It’s his first film set in the modern day, giving it a runway to run skid marks all over. The polished look of the city and suburban areas it depicts doesn’t feel all that right or normal, which is maybe how Yorgos feels about our current society. On the surface, it may feel okay, but there’s much more to be uncovered within ourselves and the environment surrounding us. The first act is the most straightforward, feeling the most like his recent style and comedic timing. For where we go in the second and third acts of this thing, the first part is the mildest one. This is Plemons best acting performance (besides Breaking Bad), in my opinion. It showcases something we haven’t gotten to see: his ability to lead a story on his own.
The second act is a total gear shift. There’s sex, gore, and heavy loads of idiosyncrasies. I think this is the most uncomfortable he has gone since Dogtooth (maybe a scene or two in Poor Things), and that says a lot about the lengths to which Yorgos has been allowed to operate in recent years. His mixed use of delay and holding on shots induces powerful, heavy anxiety. A prime example of this is when Stone’s character cuts her own finger off to serve her skeptical husband, something that, when said aloud, makes me internally wince. Yorgos refrains from using dialogue in certain places to add to the uneasiness we feel from the external forces. Dialogue feels quintessential for understanding his films, while at the same time feeling like a repetition of an already clear motive created with sound and picture. A lot of the time, dialogue is merely a small vitamin pill for the overall tone and feel of his films.
The third part, unlike the first two, didn’t really resonate with me. The cult just doesn’t feel real, and the comedy did not land a whole lot. It feels abstract without much payoff. Hunter Schafer gets 30 seconds of fame and uses it to perfection. It’s like a Steve McQueen screen presence.
Jesse Plemons does not get enough praise. It feels like this film revolved around his characters and his performance. Plemons did not disappoint and shined in every part in a different light for each one. Emma Stone does her thing here as well. It feels like her and Yorgos really are partners in crime here, making this their third collaboration together in just 6 years, with another lined up for 2025, Bugonia, also starring Plemons.
For both of them, Kinds of Kindness may act as a stepping stone in their journey to the top with Yorgos. With this new friendship blossoming, Lanthimos is set to tear Hollywood apart and continue to make everyone feel uncomfortable about their own existence.
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