A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife’s demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning, and a woman searches for an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.
The 2010s saw a rise in some truly spectacular visionaries behind the camera, creating many a virtuoso whose work I cherish and look forward to whenever the refreshing news of an impending release comes about. Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, Nicolas Winding Refn, Denis Villeneuve, and, of course, Yorgos Lanthimos are all among a list of directors that rose from that time to deliver some of the best cinema has to offer in the modern age and, while it’s true that some of these names started a bit earlier than I’ve mentioned, it’s safe to say that the majority came to prominence in the latest years of the aughts or those to follow.
The latter, Yorgos Lanthimos, broke into the scene with his 2009 release “Dogtooth,” a disturbing film about a father locking his adult daughters into a perpetual state of childhood on the family compound, introducing his trademark black humor that, while technically nothing new, seems to have been perfected by this new master of cinema. Following the success of “Dogtooth,” Lanthimos continued to wow audiences with his oddball stories that strip away all the humanity of his central characters beyond their base levels while simultaneously exemplifying a brilliant mind that seems to understand humanity on a level that most don’t. Breaking away from the independent world, Lanthimos ventured a bit more into the public eye with his period drama “The Favourite,” taking him on his second journey to the Academy Awards (after “Dogtooth” was nominated for foreign film) and giving him his first win as he directed Olivia Colman to a well-deserved Best Actress win. However, it was his latest film “Poor Things” that catapulted him into more of a household director, giving him four more Academy Award wins (including Best Actress for Emma Stone and a Best Picture nomination, which, in my opinion, should have been the winner) with a total of 11 nominations.
Lanthimos seemed to be on top of the world after “Poor Things.” It was a genuine surprise to see him returning so quickly with “Kinds of Kindness,” but reteaming with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe is a sure bet, in addition to the staggering talents of Jesse Plemmons, Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau. This is a director who has proven time and time again to be among the best in his field, so what could go wrong?
“Kinds of Kindness” is a bizarre film, which should come as no surprise to anybody familiar with the director’s work, and it’s nearly impossible to describe to anybody who hasn’t experienced it first and maybe even to those who have. It’s a triptych of sorts or, if you will, an anthology piece, comprised of three stories starring the same cast and seemingly connected in some way, though in which way can sometimes seem unclear. It’s impossibly strange, intensely clever at times, and always hilarious, even in the moments that work less than others. As mentioned above, Lanthimos has mastered the art of dark humor, and it is on full display here, with some scenes that made me feel uncomfortable laughing and others that I struggled to understand why the audience was in an uproar.
The first story is easily the best, following Jesse Plemons as a man hell-bent on straying from a path that seems as though it has been pre-determined to the last detail by Willem Dafoe in the role of an eccentric narcissist who gets off on the thrill of playing God. It’s funny, frightening, tense, and sad and does an excellent job of setting the tone for what’s to come. Without spoiling much, Plemmons’ character rejects a request from Dafoe, the first time he’s done so in a decade and finds himself at the mercy of a life without his benefactor. The second story shifts gears to focus on a paranoia tale of mistaken identity as a man suspects that his wife, who has recently returned from being lost at sea, isn’t truly his wife. The third revolves around a young woman navigating a cult as she works with them to fulfill a prophecy regarding a mysterious woman destined to become a spiritual guide of sorts, capable even of raising the dead.
While this all sounds very captivating on paper, “Kinds of Kindness” winds up suffering the same fate that many great directors suffer with ambitious pieces like this, in that they ultimately collapse under the weight of that very ambition. Throughout the first story, I felt like “Kinds of Kindness” would avoid this fate, but, unfortunately, it feels less exciting and more disconnected from itself the longer the runtime goes on, a hefty runtime that sadly isn’t earned here and exists only to justify what can only be described as a bit of self-indulgence.
The most unfortunate thing here is that every individual piece is fascinating in its own way. If I were watching these pieces as individual short films from Lanthimos, I would have probably given them more credit, but his attempt at connecting them proves to be the film’s undoing. The first and third stories are more connected. I can’t help but feel that if Lanthimos had expanded on them more and omitted the second story entirely (again, it’s entertaining in its own right but doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest), the result would have been better. Still, instead, we’re left with it, and it showcases itself as the first sign of a film that will ultimately be disjointed. The attempt to connect these three pieces doesn’t work, and while I reiterate that they all possess their own fascination, they eventually become a chore to sit through. It’s not often I find myself watching films by directors with whom I hold in such reverence and checking the time, but by the two-hour mark or so, I found myself wondering when it would end.
Lanthimos is obviously talented and holds a strong ranking within the top 5% of directors working today, and it is clear that he possesses a level of intellect known to few. Ironically, his brilliance seems to get in the way here as he molds together three great stories into something that never lives up as a whole from their own individuality. It feels incomplete, like a brilliant sculptor presenting a half-worked marble slab as a finished work; you can see the beauty within, but not enough pieces have been chipped away.
There’s still plenty to enjoy about the film because Lanthimos is incapable of creating work that is ever less than compelling. It’s fun to unravel the themes of the futile effort of trying to please narcissists and to bear witness to the darkest parts of humanity that Lanthimos loves to explore. The performances alone are worth the watch, and it’s gratifying to see Jesse Plemons flex his talent in a leading role. I didn’t hate the film, but I didn’t fall in love with it like I did with all of his works that precede it. I adore and respect what he was chasing with this one, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite reach the finish line for me.
If only a few more pieces of that marble could have been chipped away.
In Theaters Friday, June 28th
