Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness was one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. With the film season at an end, a film with such an impressive cast (Emma Stone, Jesse Plemmons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Hong Chau) and director would certainly attract a lot of interest and attention. But even so, despite the determination of its marketing and high expectations, the movie itself seems lackluster at best.

Movie Information:

Genre:
Comedy / Drama

Main cast:
Emma Stone
Willem Daffoe
Jesse Plemons
Hong Chau
Margaret Qualley

Distributed By:
Searchlight Pictures

Duration:
2 hours and 45 minutes

Movie Rating:
6.5/10

Plot:

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness is divided into three different plots. The first plot showcases a company employee who needs to prove whether he is loyal to his boss when he asks him to stage an accident. The second plot involves a police officer whose wife has been missing for a long time, but when they find her and she returns home, he is quite suspicious of her as he notices all the changes in her behavior. In the third and final story, a divorced woman and an associate are members of a cult led by a spiritual leader who allows intercourse among the cult’s members. Anyone who breaks this rule is automatically deemed infected through a bizarre process and expelled from it.

Directing and Writing:

From the first moments of the film, the director manages to create a climate of uncertainty and excitement in order to peak the audience’s interest. Step by step, scene by scene, he constantly answers many questions and explains strange scenes that the viewer sees, thus providing an excellent plot sequence. Through the film Yorgos Lanthimos deals with subjects such as submission and the search for redemption. At the same time, through the film’s dark narrative, characters are able to show their weakness. They are portrayed as hermetically dependent on others, as well as situations. They are in constant battle with themselves to seek their fate and destiny. They have difficulty standing on their own spiritually and are consistently vulnerable to the struggles of everyday life. Since the film is divided into three stories, they are always seen being completely dependent on different people, which is reflected in their willingness to take actions that can possibly harm them.

Characters:

It is difficult to analyze the characters of this film, since there are three different stories. However, there are some common points between them. Each of them is focused and committed to an idea or person and is willing to go to extremes measures to successfully accomplish whatever is assigned or asked  of them. They feel very bad when they fail to complete the task they are asked to do and seem to lose their raison d’être when a person or group loses confidence in them and pushes them away. It is one of the main themes of the film, the terms of subordination and dependence, whether it is in a person or organization that in each character’s mind is considered as a spiritual leader.

Τhis film impressed me with the themes it deals with, such as subordination and sick dependence on persons and situations, to the extent that give meaning to the protagonists’ existence. Although the movie begins dynamically, it creates a climate of mystery and uncertainty from the start and manages scene by scene, to provide answers about many questions regarding the relationships between the film’s characters, after the audience first identifies with them.

However, in my opinion, the film, due to its very long duration, tires the average viewer and I think it left many unanswered questions that the viewer might have had during the unfolding of its events. Another common criticism was the fact that there were the several (and sometimes unnecessary) violent scenes.

Overall, Kinds of Kindness is a decent film, with a very good cast. The director uses his well-known aesthetic to charm the audience, but I think its great disadvantage is its length and a variety of plot holes that are seen throughout the movie.

Written by Takis Konstantinopoulos