Film Review: Kinds of Kindness

 Film number 22 of 2024

The Film: Kinds of Kindness

The Cinema: Village Rivoli Cinemas

Stars: A very cautious 3

Things I knew about this film going into it: 

• The writer/director is Yorgos Lanthimos, who's previous work I've loved. 
• It has some of my favourite actors in it - Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley to name a few. 
• It's nearly three hours long
• And it has an audience score of 43% on RottenTomatoes.com

Things I now know about this film having come out of the cinema:

• It's probably Yorgos Lanthimos's least accessible work
• It's bonkers (then again, so are his other films)
• It's very deserving of the MA+ rating
• It is very thought provoking, if you can sit through it all. 

There were four of us in the cinema when the film started. There were two at the end of the film. I have a feeling walk outs will happen a lot with this one. 

See, as bonkers as it is, up until now, I've loved the films of Yorgos Lanthimos. The Lobster is incredible - hilarious. The Favourite, the film that got Olivia Coleman her Oscar - glorious. Poor Things got Emma Stone her Oscar. I adore these films. They're blackly funny, stylised and bizarre - but you enjoy watching them. 

The same can't quite be said for this one. 

This one is dark. Very dark.

There are three shorter films within the one all hinging around the mysterious R.M.F. and all have a story which is loosely based around themes of control and redemption. 

In the first section, The Death of R.M.F. Richard (Jesse Plemons) makes the decision to not fulfill his boss/master's (Willem Dafoe) wishes in killing somebody. This decision means his home life is interfered with. He also comes to learn that Robert's reach is large and insidious. Does he enact Robert's wishes or go it alone? 

In the second segment, R.M.F is Flying, Daniel (again, Jesse Plemons with shorter hair) is unsure his wife Liz (Emma Stone), who has been rescued from an island, is not his wife. 

This is the most disturbing section of the trilogy. 

In the last section, R.M.F eats a Sandwich, we meet Emma Stone's character Emily is on the hunt for a messiah type character for her 'Omi' (Willem Dafoe) the cult leader. Her lackey, Andrew (Jesse Plemons) also a member is not sure that the pair will find the woman. After an encounter with her ex-husband, Emily is cast out of the cult, but continues to look for the woman she seeks in the prophesy. 

Confused yet? You're allowed to be. 

G.G Townsend gives a better review than me, looking at the film in detail. 

I'll just say that this is an interesting film, bizarre and absurd, that has some pretty deep messages about control, consent and oppression. 

But not everybody wants to see a film about this - particularly when it's nearly three hours long. 

Stylistically, the film is amazing. It's view of Middle America is clear and unflinching. What's particularly good is the soundscape provided by an interesting mix of Greek hymns, discordant organ music and some pop bangers. 

Lanthimos uses his stable of extraordinary actors brilliantly, despite the bizarre material. I particularly loved the cult scenes and Emma Stone's dance at the very end. (See song of the day).

But I can't recommend this one, unless you're enrolled in film studies or you're a lover of either the films of Yorgos Lanthimos or absurdism. 

You've been duly warned. 

I'm going off now to think about it a bit more. 

Today's song: