I harbor a deep love of every film Yorgos Lanthimos has made to date. 'Poor things' and 'The favourite' may have garnered the fame and popularity of awards, but ''Dogtooth,' 'Alps,' 'The killing of a sacred deer,' and all his other works are just as brilliant. It's safe to say that I've been looking forward to 'Kinds of kindness' from the time it was announced, with only its considerable length keeping me from seeing it any sooner. Somehow, despite all that, Lanthimos is the sort of filmmaker who surprises us again and again as he and common collaborator Efthimis Filippou keep up their consistent approach of incredibly wry, dry humor; characters with abnormal and very forthright mannerisms, behavior, and conversational patterns; and a decidedly peculiar, fanciful surrealism that verges on the bizarrerie of David Lynch. Each picture bears these similarities, yet every time the method is a wonder. And to my great pleasure, this 2024 anthology falls right in line with its predecessors. Nothing here will change the minds of those who have a hard time getting on board with Lanthimos' style, yet for those open to all the wide, weird possibilities of cinematic storytelling, 'Kinds of kindness' is simply terrific!
I have a hard time not seeing Emma Stone as the young newcomer who appeared in teen comedies and big audience pleasers early in her career, just as Jesse Plemons will, to me, always first bring to mind Todd in 'Breaking bad.' Yet as they appear here alongside the inimitable Willem Dafoe and rising stars Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley, Mamoudou Athie, and still other very recognizable actors, there can be no mistaking that Stone and Plemons are high-caliber performers who are very serious about their craft, and creation in the medium. Heeding Lanthimos' beck and call and fully embracing the striking, unforgettable strangeness of the man's body of work, everyone turns in solid, firmly engaging, impeccable performances that are at once carefully honed and calculated, and perfectly natural and smooth. Much the same goes for the man's direction, mind you, being tight and focused but allowing every moment to be explored in its entirety - all while sustaining the same odd idiosyncrasies, regardless of sex, violence, or anything else happening in a scene. Why, even the original music of Jerskin Fendrix is noteworthy and arresting in a like manner; as discordant piano and choral selections judiciously, selectively punctuate the proceedings, the score stops just short of suggesting horror, only ever adding to the offbeat, charged whimsy of the feature. Once again, 'Kinds of kindness' is both kith and kin with its brethren, and wholly unique as only Lanthimos can conjure.
Of course all this is to say nothing of how stupendously the movie is made, meeting all the high standards of modern productions. The editing and cinematography, the sets and costume design, the hair and makeup, the fundamental sound and image, and not least the stunts and effects are all superb, and a total blast. And as to the very loosely connected narratives that Lanthimos and Filippou whipped up, well, we can draw points of comparison, and we can also reasonably say there's nothing else like it. Thrills, chills, laughs, and also plentiful cringes of revulsion populate these nearly three hours alongside other real emotions and varying moods, all while serving up a host of marvelously distinctive, outlandish storytelling that dances across drama, dark comedy, horror, science fiction, and the indescribably far-flung - and all with a certain psychological edge and arthouse inflections. I don't even rightly know how to put these three plots into words; I know only that the narrative and scene writing, the characters, and the dialogue are all fantastically strong and flavorful, an assemblage equally smart and kooky that's wonderfully engrossing, compelling, and satisfying. Well and truly, I dare say Lanthimos is one of the most original and creative, and underappreciated, filmmakers working today.
Any title that operates in a more experimental, abstruse, or avant-garde space will surely appeal only to a fairly niche audience, and the same is definitely true of filmmakers who regularly play in such spaces. 'Kinds of kindness,' and Lanthimos, are nothing if not that, so I can understand that this won't be for everyone. Be that as it may, whether one is a particular fan of someone involved or just looking for something good, so long as you're receptive to the more far-out and unconventional corners of fiction, as far as I'm concerned this is all but a masterpiece. From start to finish in each segment it's a flick that takes us on a fabulous, clever, entertaining, intoxicating journey, and I'm kind of aghast that it's not more highly celebrated. For my money 'Kinds of kindness' is surely one of the best films of the past year, and I'm all too happy to give it my very high, hearty, and enthusiastic recommendation!
I have a hard time not seeing Emma Stone as the young newcomer who appeared in teen comedies and big audience pleasers early in her career, just as Jesse Plemons will, to me, always first bring to mind Todd in 'Breaking bad.' Yet as they appear here alongside the inimitable Willem Dafoe and rising stars Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley, Mamoudou Athie, and still other very recognizable actors, there can be no mistaking that Stone and Plemons are high-caliber performers who are very serious about their craft, and creation in the medium. Heeding Lanthimos' beck and call and fully embracing the striking, unforgettable strangeness of the man's body of work, everyone turns in solid, firmly engaging, impeccable performances that are at once carefully honed and calculated, and perfectly natural and smooth. Much the same goes for the man's direction, mind you, being tight and focused but allowing every moment to be explored in its entirety - all while sustaining the same odd idiosyncrasies, regardless of sex, violence, or anything else happening in a scene. Why, even the original music of Jerskin Fendrix is noteworthy and arresting in a like manner; as discordant piano and choral selections judiciously, selectively punctuate the proceedings, the score stops just short of suggesting horror, only ever adding to the offbeat, charged whimsy of the feature. Once again, 'Kinds of kindness' is both kith and kin with its brethren, and wholly unique as only Lanthimos can conjure.
Of course all this is to say nothing of how stupendously the movie is made, meeting all the high standards of modern productions. The editing and cinematography, the sets and costume design, the hair and makeup, the fundamental sound and image, and not least the stunts and effects are all superb, and a total blast. And as to the very loosely connected narratives that Lanthimos and Filippou whipped up, well, we can draw points of comparison, and we can also reasonably say there's nothing else like it. Thrills, chills, laughs, and also plentiful cringes of revulsion populate these nearly three hours alongside other real emotions and varying moods, all while serving up a host of marvelously distinctive, outlandish storytelling that dances across drama, dark comedy, horror, science fiction, and the indescribably far-flung - and all with a certain psychological edge and arthouse inflections. I don't even rightly know how to put these three plots into words; I know only that the narrative and scene writing, the characters, and the dialogue are all fantastically strong and flavorful, an assemblage equally smart and kooky that's wonderfully engrossing, compelling, and satisfying. Well and truly, I dare say Lanthimos is one of the most original and creative, and underappreciated, filmmakers working today.
Any title that operates in a more experimental, abstruse, or avant-garde space will surely appeal only to a fairly niche audience, and the same is definitely true of filmmakers who regularly play in such spaces. 'Kinds of kindness,' and Lanthimos, are nothing if not that, so I can understand that this won't be for everyone. Be that as it may, whether one is a particular fan of someone involved or just looking for something good, so long as you're receptive to the more far-out and unconventional corners of fiction, as far as I'm concerned this is all but a masterpiece. From start to finish in each segment it's a flick that takes us on a fabulous, clever, entertaining, intoxicating journey, and I'm kind of aghast that it's not more highly celebrated. For my money 'Kinds of kindness' is surely one of the best films of the past year, and I'm all too happy to give it my very high, hearty, and enthusiastic recommendation!