Yorgos Lanthimos has to be one of the most exciting directors. His films push the boundaries, not only in moviemaking but also story telling. With his last hit, the brilliant Poor Things, still ringing in our heads with its bizarre tale and strong visuals, we now have Kinds of Kindness, another head-spinning movie broken into three separate stories that deal with how we, as humans, that urge to please, no matter what the situation. Like Poor Things and his other movies, The Favourite, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Dogtooth, Lanthimos delivers large dollops of black comedy with scenes that will shock, maybe disgust. Still, it is never dull and will show you what happens when a filmmaker is allowed creative room.

Three tales linked by one minor character: R.M.F. The first tale is about a man with an overpowering boss who wants another man dead. When the employee refuses, he finds his world crumbling around him. The second tale is about a cop whose wife has gone missing until she turns up, and the cop believes she is not his wife. Finally, there is the tale of a couple who work for a cult, trying to find a particular person who has the power to bring the dead back to life. Yet when the woman finds herself unpure, she goes on her mission to prove herself.

Each of the three stories could easily make a movie of its own, yet Lanthimos uses each to show the desperate measures people will go to to please someone else. The first film has the boss who controls the life of Robert, a man who lives in a lovely house with his wife and is given gifts of sporting memorabilia. Yet the price is to have his whole life controlled by his boss, from the clothes he wears to the food he eats, even when he makes love to his wife. Refusing to drive his car into another leads Robert to be disowned by his boss, and he becomes a shell of his former self.

Story two is like a revamp of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A cop’s wife goes missing, presumed drowned when she appears on his doorstep some months later. Everything is rosy until Daniel, the cop, has a suspicion his wife is an imposter and demands she performs bodily harm to prove herself.

Finally, there’s the most in-depth story. A cult believes that a new prophet is out in the world and sends two of its highest members, Emily and Andrew, to find them. When Emily is tricked into sleeping with her estranged husband, she is thrown out of the community for being unpure. Desperate to return, she starts her own hunt for this mysterious person.

The film looks magnificent, as you would expect from a Lanthimos production. Attention to detail is the key, with costumes and settings capturing the pieces’ tones. Each tale has its moments of dark humour that may or may not make you laugh, depending on how far you are willing to go. Lathimos takes us to some incredibly dark places and deals with subjects that many may struggle to deal with. He also fills the stories with the same actors, each playing different characters.

Returning to work with the Greek director again, Emma Stone and Willam Dafoe seem to be huge fans of his working methods. Stone is terrific once again in her triple roles, and it appears that Lathimos brings the best out of her, and she obviously trusts him. She also does the best spontaneous dance routine ever put to film. Dafoe, once again, plays creepy with a hint of charm, taking on the roles of the boss and the cult leader and playing each with the assurance of a veteran. Jesse Plemons joins them and steals the film. Having already stolen the Civil War as the psychotic soldier, he shows his ability to change his look and character. All three roles are as different as they come, from the weak Robert to the cop with a violent streak to the quietly spoken Andrew in the final story. He has already signed up to star in Lathimos’s new film, and you can see that this director is willing to take chances with his cast.

Kinds of Kindness is a marmite movie. If you are a fan of the director’s previous work, you will enjoy every inch of it. If you find movies willing to go beyond their subject matter, it is best to stay away. For me, it’s not as good as Poor Things, but he is a director, and I am always excited to see what he comes up with next. As for the title, there is very little kindness on show.

4 out of 5

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willam Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Yorgos Stefanakos

Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou

Running Time: 164 mins

Cert: 18

Release date: 28th June 2024