
KINDS OF KINDNESS
Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

QUENTIN

After Poor Things, one had to expect at least a small hangover with director Yorgos Lanthimos’ next outing, so it’s not exactly surprising that Kinds of Kindness is underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good; however, it might be Lanthimos’ least good movie, which is all because of the story structure. Kindness is basically an anthology of three short films, and there is inconsistency in their levels of intrigue and development. I would have rather watched any of the three as a standalone feature instead of the truncated versions we get here. Still, all the typically weird greatness you’d expect from Lanthimos and this cast are present.

ADRIANO

Kinds of Kindness sees co-writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos returning to his absurdist, cynical roots, and in many ways, it's a nice return. It delivers consistent laughs, and Lanthimos' direction constantly throws in bizarre little details that make the film even funnier. Plus, the cast is in on Lanthimos' weirdness. At just under 3 hours, the movie flies by. That said, my enjoyment of each story wavered, and I ended up coming away feeling empty. What is the big takeaway beyond freak entertainment? If that was the goal, then success, but it's not up to par with Lanthimos' best.

NICK

You know when you walk up to a group of people already mid-conversation? That's what watching Kinds of Kindness is like, but with three separate conversations. Each “chapter” contains a story strong enough to be a feature, but these stories often lack a true beginning or end, which leads things to feel both rushed and underdeveloped. However, that's not to say it's not entertaining. The performances are great, and as mentioned, the stories are very interesting; their potential just feels wasted in this format. Having said that, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what their favourite “chapter” is, so that’s fun.

PRESTON

A gentleman kicks up his legs and checks his phone until he falls asleep, snoring. A woman finishes her store-bought soda and leaves the theater. A stretch-happy man in short shorts and calf-length socks takes off his shoes and plays a dangerous game of foot vs. drinking straw. A couple converses. A worker drives her electric scooter halfway down the middle aisle, watches the film momentarily, then leaves (twice!). If four koalas were half-heartedly humping in row C, the parallelism to Kinds of Kindness would be uncanny. Only you can decide if that sounds entertaining or like a Kafkian nightmare.

AMARÚ

Poor Things was my first foray into director Yorgos Lanthimos, and with that film he gained favor with me. After Kinds of Kindness, y’all can have him back. I’m good with weird movies, but the weird needs purpose and reasoning. Kindness’ weird was Yorgos playing The Sims, having the characters do random shit and imagining the arbitrary phrases they say. Every time I was getting remotely interested, some other unexplained weird shit happened or the segment would just end. Naaaaaaw… Maybe I’ll finally watch The Favourite to solidify the Yorgos I’ll watch and the Yorgos I won’t, because this was 100% the latter.
MORE REVIEWS TO COME!
This film was reviewed by Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.