Overview and Production
Acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is poised to release an anthology film titled Kinds of Kindness in 2024. It will be his directorial work alongside co-writer Efthimis Filippou. Immediately distinguishable through his emotionally remote approach, as expressed in The Lobster, Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos takes his signature style even further in this ambitious triptych that merges three interlocked stories.
Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie comprise the cast of Kinds of Kindness, which also features them performing various roles across the three segments. Each actor portrays diverse characters in each story, which serves as a choice adding layers of complexity to the film’s n examination of identity and repetition.
The film was shot in New Orleans and had a budget of $15 million. After premiering in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and winning Jesse Plemons the Best Actor award, the film had a global release that was met with both praise and critique.
Plot Summary
Like many of Lanthimos’s works, Kinds of Kindness has profound socio-political insight. The film consists of three parts where each segment is self contained yet acts as a chapter. In total, eleven themes revolving submission, control, identity and psychological dominance intertwine each segment.
- The Death of R.M.F.
The initial segment focuses on Robert, a man who is almost enslaved to his boss, Raymond. Robert is obedient to Raymond to the point where his career and marriage suffers. When Raymond orders a hit-and-run for “loyalty” purposes, Robert dutifully performs the act. However, the consequences unravel multiple facets of his life and initiate his descent into a moral collapse. This narrative delves into the themes of mindless submission and lack of independence due to authority.
- R.M.F. Is Flying
In the second segment, Jesse Plemons portrays a police officer named Daniel who, after presumably losing his wife Liz to the sea, is shockingly reunited with her. Despite her resemblance and demeanor, Daniel becomes so convinced that she was replaced that he slides into a deep paranoia. His obsession with proving her identity results in increasingly grisly demands and culminates in shocking self-mutilation. With the emergence of another version of Liz, the plot plunges into psychological horror underscoring the vulnerability of love and identity.
- The Third Story
In the last part, Emma Stone features as Emily, a woman undergoing a personal journey who gets involved with a cult aiming to bring the dead back to life. The cult follows a prophet-like figure played by Willem Dafoe. As Emily immerses herself in this world, she begins losing touch with reality. This story focuses on the steep price one willingly sacrifices in religious devotion, the need to exist, and chaos.
Cast and Performances
Jesse Plemons: He is a submissive office worker-turned distraught husband, and a spiritually dazed suitor. His range resets in every new role. Jesse winning the Best Actor award at Cannes for the role speaks of his ability to transform into a psyche under extreme pressure- be it mental, emotional, or physical.
Emma Stone: A vivacious and vocal performer full of grace. Shifts from a composed wife to a cult follower, tender in form yet rebellious underneath all the skin, murky as the emotions all stuck together in silence.
Willem Dafoe: Almost transcendent and deliver a counter to all the roles he portrays gives him an other worldly, chilling, yet roguishly commanding power. Authority characters in the other roles can only be described as lascivious, paradoxically filled with sage like wisdom wrapped in academia, in a sinister way.
Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, and Joe Alwyn: These supporting players add to the salient reality of the film. That is to say they help highlight the feeling of paranoia and dread from the story along with deepening the emotions and tension throughout.
Direction, Visual Style, and Tone
Lanthimos employs his signature stylistic devices of dead pan dialogue, symmetrical framing, minimal score, and lengthy silences throughout the film. Visual storytelling relies on muted colors and minimalistic production design to reinforce the emotional detachment of the characters.
Ryan’s cinematography is both stark and mesmerizing. It often creates discomfort through slow zooms and static shots. Ambient dread, rather than melodic composition, defines Jerskin Fendrix’s sparse score, which evokes a sense of unease and ritual.
Each segment feels like a stylized, self-contained world. The film’s central thesis is reinforced when the same actors are cast in new roles for each story. Human beings grapple with identity, obedience, love, and meaning regardless of the circumstances inwhich they are placed.
Obedience and Control
All three stories feature characters yielding to some form of controlled domination, whether it be a higher authority like a boss, a partner, or a spiritual figure. The film critiques humanity’s propensity to surrender autonomy for the hollow promise of security, belief, or love.
Identity and Repetition
The Character (Re)Casting Construct Inverted Commas encourages reflection among the audience on how identity is constructed and shaped, as well as identity/workplace issues around selfhood. It interrogates the elements of fixed selfhood nad calls to ponder on whether we really know ourselves or we perform different roles in life.
Love and Self-Destruction
Lethargic self-destruction and egoistic violence mark romantic interactions in Kinds of Kindness. The multimodal representation of love in the form of a wife proving her naitonal/diasporic identity/national allegiance through amputation or a husband wholesale abandoning agency captures love as a force of destruction.
Faith and Nihilism
The void left by the longing for spirituality and/or religion is further explored in the third segment; Emilly’s descent into a cultical organization digitally illustrates the ease with which many can surrender to radical ideals for the sake of something to believe in.
Reception and Critical Response
For its bold thematic exploration as well as its outstanding performances, the film was received and praised widely for its originality. Critics have settled on the notion that though Yorgos Lanthimos’ he is generally regarded as a unique cinematic voice in contemporary cinema have captured much of the latest critical trends in the film industry, he has remained steadfast in his trademark stylistic and thematic approach. Special acclaim was dedicated to Jesse Plemons for his subtle but powerful reimaginings in the role.
Despite the deeply affecting themes of the film, Kinds of Kindness was also divisive. Skeptics pointed to the running time of 164 minutes, the emotionally disconnected character arcs, and the repetitive structure as barriers for those accustomed to more traditional storytelling. Other critics felt that the film was excessively grim and misanthropic.
Nevertheless, Kinds of Kindness sparked discourse surrounding the moral parameters of storytelling, obedience within sociocultural hierarchies, and the profound costs of emotional surrender, showcasing the film’s effort-provoking qualities.
Final Remarks
In summary, Kinds of Kindness is a film that unsettles through its undisputed mastery over filmic techniques. Yorgos Lanthimos presents a distinctive interpretation of the human condition by immersing audiences into intellectual and emotional turbulence coupled with an existential crisis that three interwoven tales articulate. This is not a film tailored for the viewer’s peace of mind or straightforward decoding. It resists effortless understanding and invites active commitment through powerful, disquieting introspection. It is unblinking in its intention, with gripping performances led by Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone, solidifying its place as one of the boldest cinematic offerings of 2024.
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