Alex Wheeler Movie Ops

There are many ways to measure the greatest filmmakers. Highest high, consistency, inventiveness, hell, even the highest low is often considered. It’s part of the subjectivity of art and all that, which means none of us will ever agree on who the greatest filmmakers are at any given time.

Yorgos Lanthimos is a contender in our current age. Even those who don’t respond to his strong, deadpan style see the intellect of his social critiques and the skillful creation of his off-kilter worlds. He’s such a great filmmaker that his abrasive films now border on mainstream popularity, a trajectory no one could have anticipated when he broke onto the international scene with Dogtooth just 15 years ago.

And now he has a summertime release, at least of the counter-programing variety. Kinds of Kindness sees him reteam with co-writer Efthimis Filippou for another of their feel-bad comedies, shaking off the relative lightness of his last two features just in time to traumatize any kid who gets the theater wrong for Inside Out 2. Oh, and did I mention it’s a triptych? 

As much as its release strategy is a head-scratcher, that confusion pales in comparison to actually seeing the film. It is one of Yorgos’ messes. The social critiques are uncomfortably opaque, making the nastiness harder to chuckle at and the eeriness sink too far into your bones. As for the three stories forming a cohesive film, that is tenuous as well. Hence, it’s best to discuss the parts individually.

We begin with the most straightforward of the bunch: a tale of dominance and control so complete it’s certain to end badly. Jesse Plemons plays Robert, a man whose every action is commanded by Willem Dafoe’s Raymond. When Raymond asks for too much, Robert must decide between navigating life on his own or doing the unspeakable.

It’s a clean, easily understandable premise, even as the events taking place feel unimaginable. Plemons plays Robert as unnervingly fragile, a character trait in many of Lanthimos and Filippou’s central characters, and one he mines to keep this section lively. Without that depth, the story would’ve been too straightforward for its own good and likely would’ve faltered by the mid-point.

The second part of Kinds of Kindness keeps Plemons in the lead. Here, he plays a mentally faltering police officer whose wife, played by Emma Stone, has disappeared. She’s found almost unbelievably healthy, and in his state, Plemons’ character can’t believe it. He notes every minor change in her, reacting aggressively and cruelly to her presence. The high-wire act of this section is in keeping the mystery going: is Plemons’ character correct or not?

The film has traded pristine cruelty for messy cruelty, and the moral ambiguity does Lanthimos’ style no favors. One or both of these characters are in extreme, real duress, and it’s unclear whether either have made mistakes or succumbed to faults to put themselves there. A dream recounted by Stone’s character likely holds the key, but the lock was too tricky for me after one viewing.

Two redeeming aspects of this section make it worthwhile: Mamoudou Athie’s performance and the biggest laugh of the entire film. Athie effuses kindness as Plemons’ best friend, but he’s also caught in a situation he cannot navigate. He flails but tries his best. It is, perhaps, the most humane kind of kindness in the film. As for the laugh, well, you can’t miss it.

The last section brings Stone to the fore as a cult member searching for their messiah. It’s the most attuned to Lanthimos and Filippou’s sensibilities, dropping us into an insular world with rigid rules that are discernable without extensive exposition. Their ability to make you roll with absurdity and their grace to temper the world’s cruelty with distance make this the most palatable of the trio.

It’s also the bleakest section of the bunch, or perhaps it gets saddled with that because the film needed a parting shot. None of the sections have happy endings (I’ll hear arguments to the contrary on section 2), but they hit differently given the strategies and effectiveness of each.

In aggregate, Kinds of Kindness is most effective at sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of Lanthimos’ approach. The more unreal the mechanics of the world the more heightened his style can be. When he sticks too close to home, a thick slather of his signature bluntness terrifies and dulls laughter. It’s a trend you can suss out when considering the highs and lows of his previous works. His best films, like The Lobster or The Favourite, keep unreality and style mostly in line. His lesser films, like The Killing of a Sacred Deer, see the two become unmoored.

Kinds of Kindness gives you the full gamut of Lanthimos, leaving it far from his greatest film but never a waste. Even at his worst, he gives filmgoers things to chew on, and he certainly pushes us to see the sharp edges of the world. That’s what puts him in conversation as one of the greatest filmmakers working today. Even his misfires deliver quite a bit.

Release: Available now in theaters
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie