Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
[Rated R] 2hr 45min
★★★★½
Kinds of Kindness is a dark comedy/drama anthology containing three different stories with the same actors. Each narrative is completely separate, but they’re all connected through similar themes and ideas involving power and abuse. The first story is about a man who questions orders from his boss for the first time, the second involves a paranoid cop who doesn’t trust his wife, and the final one focuses on cult members searching for a woman with supernatural abilities.
Released only seven months after his masterpiece Poor Things (2023), Yorgos Lanthimos once again directs an incredibly weird and unconventional movie. All three stories in Kinds of Kindness build an increasingly tense and uneasy atmosphere, which creates an uncomfortable yet captivating experience. Each narrative provides a cautionary tale about the various ways people can be manipulated and exploited by those with power over them, and the themes are greatly reinforced by the anthology structure of the film as well. Since the same cast mostly appears in every story, this repetition develops a claustrophobic atmosphere that further enhances the tension with each additional segment. Through its exceptional technical and narrative elements, this film offers a unique perspective on how people can be negatively influenced by others, and it effectively demonstrates the devastating effects of becoming trapped in unhealthy relationships.
Kinds of Kindness is a fantastic film that I highly recommend for people who enjoy dark, unsettling movies and for fans of Lanthimos’s other work such as The Lobster (2015) or The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). Like those films, Kinds of Kindness can be psychologically challenging as it critically examines certain negative aspects of humanity in a very direct manner. While it’s far from being a happy movie, this film does provide an enjoyable experience through its riveting multiple narratives and the phenomenal performances from its incredible cast.
Kinds of Kindness is now playing in theaters. Click here to watch the Official Teaser.
– Review by Will Hopper