Kinds of Kindness takes flight with Yorgos Lanthimos’ return to the wacky; weird and wonderful origins that defined his career. Think more Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer than The Favourite and Poor Things. This will not get him an Oscar; especially so soon after Poor Things, but it allows for Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Emma Stone to put in some of their best work to date in an anthology that spans three chapters; seeing Dafoe, Plemons and Stone all play different, disconnected characters, stories linked by themes of warped kindness and twisted obsession. With Lanthimos working off a screenplay he wrote with Efthimis Filippou, the sheer absurdist charms of it all make a play for greatness.
The Death of RMF is our first chapter, about a man called Robert Fletcher, played by Plemons, who follows every order given by his boss Dafoe, who tells him when to have sex, what to do, the weight, what to wear and more importantly, who to kill – a man known only as RMF at a stoplight. He fails and then realises that he can’t do it – but Dafoe’s Raymond won’t give up easily. His rewards, including Senna’s helmet and McEnroe’s smashed tennis racket, are quickly taken, one by one.
The chapter’s sticking point of showing how much you can push a man before he breaks highlights the need for Robert’s attachment and desperation; we learn how much horrible things he’s done in Raymond’s name and how pathetic his character has become; such as staging a meeting of his wife on Raymond’s orders by faking a trip so she’ll notice him. It’s something that he tries again with comical results in an absurdist, dogmatic method – once wasn’t enough, maybe it’ll work again? In steps Emma Stone’s Rita, a woman who is also being controlled by Raymond – his need for control is portrayed superbly. Dafoe is at his best in this chapter – manipulating Robert in a way that will make your skin crawl. For a film called Kinds of Kindness, you’d expect some here, but it becomes apparent the title is very much a misleading misnomer, but instead it’s free will stripped, and not just stripped, beaten to a bloody pulp. Control is key here – and in this film, Lanthimos exercises its total dominance over multiple chapters.
Plemons and Stone share the next chapter again; this time with Stone being the one manipulated by Plemons – instantly in a position of power as Daniel, a cop – who finds himself spiralling when his wife Liz is rescued after an ocean expedition. However she’s changed; different – now she eats chocolate, and does numerous other things – there’s a touch of uniqueness here, an oddity and perversion to Daniel’s character from the start, he makes his friends watch a video of the four of them having sex in his time of mourning, and then he exerts that same control over Liz, he’s feeling peckish he claims, he wants to eat first her finger, and then her leg – in a dominating display of control that almost makes you wonder what if Lanthimos had become a TV director instead – Yellowjackets would’ve probably been a lot gorier. There are downright uncomfortable scenes in this one and whilst it is the weakest of the three chapters; it’s only due to the strength of the first and last.
Finally – Plemons and Stone play the role of the controlled; their power subverted for the whims of Dafoe again, what rotten luck for Plemons, who feels like Lanthimos’ punching bag in this. But then so does everyone, his love and respect for Dafoe ensures that he takes command in two of the three stories; it all demonstrates how different people use that power differently in an examination of the human condition that’s pushing everyone, everywhere to the limit and finding when they’ll snap. Stone and Plemons are looking for a mythical twin with the power to raise the dead on a road trip across rural Americana on behalf of their cult leader – with lethal, shocking consequences.
From the start Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) lets you know what you’re in for, everyone is looking for someone to use and abuse or be used and abused by – there’s never been a more appropriate opening track. It’s also Lanthimos reuniting with Emma Stone for another dream pairing; Stone’s range as an actor is almost unparalleled right now, but equally good is Plemons, both great at getting under your skin. They take turns as willing and unwilling, power dynamics changed at every turn. A fantasy unravelled – good lost long ago and evil runs everywhere. This feels darker than Longlegs which had the literal embodiment of Satan himself. No wonder the film only got an under 50% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating, it’s not a crowd pleaser, but let yourself be indulged by its nihilistic, bleak outlook that tests your patience over the 165 minute runtime and you’ll find yourself right at home. Hell is empty and all the devils are here – improbably it’s Lanthimos’ bleakest yet.
VERDICT: 9/10
