Kinds of Kindness
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
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.
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Kinds of Kindness Ratings & Reviews
- Desmond DaleJanuary 24, 2025I was watching an old interview with Tarantino where he was talking about how the greatest strength in American filmmaking used to be the storytelling, which he further explains that high quality storytelling is the happy medium between unearned twists and plots that are easily discernible from the start, but rather strive for a slow, methodical unfolding. He also posits that most of the major mainstream pictures we churn out no longer exhibit that strength but there are a few exceptional filmmakers who can and are still willing to put in the time and thought. Yorgos is a Greek filmmaker who I think exemplifies this notion that international films have eclipsed the Hollywood fodder for decades now. When I watch a Yorgos I feel instantly compelled to live and breathe in the alternate warped reality of his characters and to try and empathize with them in order to understand the rules of their world. His plot scenarios and character motivations are relentlessly novel and alien in nature. And yes this often results in his films being a bit challenging but the challenge is what makes them so rewarding and what I feel is lacking in most of the Hollywood schlock that directors are churning out today. Kinds of Kindness is a film made up of a series of vignettes that utilize the same key actors in a myriad of different realities and scenarios that all succeed in providing challenging plots and character motivations. I don't think they're all perfect but they're all well above the par in terms of being interesting and engaging. With each vignette Yorgos forces his audience to try to figure out the puzzle and find empathy in characters who are not only highly flawed but are operating within a rubric or set of motivations that are far removed from the rudimentary reality of the average person. I didn't love the ending of one of them but I feel like Yorgos is also toying with the importance and significance that the average viewer places on an ending and just trying to upset our expectations in often a fucked up, sick fashion.
- uggmuggNovember 6, 2025bonkers
- makdelartJanuary 1, 2026It was truly a waste of time. Lanthimos wanders aimlessly, searching for increasingly bizarre means of expression.
- Kevin WardJuly 1, 2025I’m not usually a fan of anthology films, particularly ones without an easily definable connective through-line, but this one happens to fit right in with so much Yorgos’s other works (Dogtooth, Alps, Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer) it almost feels like it’s a part of a greater anthology, forever musing on the absurdity if human behavior. Soo much to unpack from the specific song choices, recurring motifs, recurring shots, I would f🤩king kill for director commentary tracks on all of Yorgos’s. I would only recommend this if you’ve seen the aforementioned films and you vibed with them, because this is much more of them same.
- rg9400December 16, 2025Kinds of Kindness is a complete mess. It's an anthology featuring 3 separate stories that all feature the same cast. The stories are all fairly different but share larger themes revolving around control. Unfortunately, for me, this was a complete misfire. The stories are weird, very weird. I struggled to remain interested in them because it often felt like things were just happening. I would say the 2nd one was maybe the most narratively cohesive, almost something out of Twin Peaks. The first and third one are not narratively satisfying in the least though. The cast is extremely talented, but the writing is so weird that their line delivery almost feels like they themselves don't believe what they are saying. I actually thought the rough dialogue was part of some larger reveal, but nope. The characters are all awful people as well, and the events are not exactly pleasant to watch. There is a lot of nudity and sex, which in itself is not a bad thing. Lanthimos used that to great effect in Poor Things. Here though, it serves purely to offend and make the viewer uncomfortable. In fact, that seems to be the main exercise of the movie. While being split into thirds makes it more digestible in terms of pacing, I can't imagine having to sit through something like this in a theater. At 3 hours long, it feels like it would be torture. I really like Lanthimos as a director. Poor Things, The Favourite, and this year's Bugonia are all good movies. They share a similar ensemble, have strange plots and quirky characters, and they have that distinctive tone and cinematography. They are all much better than this rare misfire from an otherwise excellent director.
- MascokMarch 25, 2025The film placed more emphasis on symbolism and oddity rather than telling compelling narratives.
- VarunJanuary 26, 2025Since this is an anthology of 3 different short films, I will review each separately in order and combine the ratings. After watching Poor Things, I was excited to see what weirdness Yorgos would cook up this time and he definitely didn’t disappoint. Major Spoilers Ahead The Death of R.M.F - 10/10 This was definitely the best short with Jesse Plemons giving one of his best performances. It also has the most easy to understand plot with clear themes. The level of power and control Raymond (played by Willem Dafoe) exercises on Robert is intriguing to watch as it mimics an almost sexual Dom Sub relationship which applies both in the workplace and his home life. The biggest parallel I saw was one with religion, as people try slavishly to follow “God’s words” and please Him for rewards. Robert let these made up rules dominate every part of his life, from the partner he chooses, the food he eats, the pleasures he avoids, etc. despite not giving him true happiness which we can sense from his monotonous demeanour. But when his conscience tells him that committing a certain act is wrong and he resists, he his cast out by the boss (or religious community) and loses his privileges. And instead of joining another company, he goes crazy with the burdensome responsibility of autonomy and freedom, and tries desperately to seek that sense of comfort and security in what he’s been practicing for decades. I love this quote from David Jenken’s review of the movie, “The pressures that come from submitting to a force of sublime dominance inevitably lead to transgression.” Humans will commit the most heinous acts and self-sabotage just to curry favour with their peers and they will pretend they are only following the “righteous” path. We can draw similar parallels to controlling parent child relationships, or the ignorant masses’ desire to be lead by any authority regardless of their morality. It is often about seeking validation in the embrace of another rather than figuring out who you are or want to be. Despite me wanting to stay in this story longer, the short had impeccable pacing and comedic timing, wrapped up the ending satisfyingly and it was a great start to the series. R.M.F is Flying - 9/10 The comedy in this short is pretty hilarious. Daniel is dealing with his missing wife Liz who eventually returns but is a completely changed woman. I really liked the themes of a person who is unable to come to terms with their partner’s growth and change in their lifestyle. Daniel’s impulse is to throw tantrums and even adopt destructive and abusive behaviours to get his wife to go back to the version that he loves instead of embracing or supporting the new her. Liz getting lost on an island and not telling the truth could also signify how in the modern day couples are working apart, consuming different kinds of media online, and going through separate intellectual, moral or spiritual changes which makes it feel like their partners are on a different island/headspace and the sudden shifts in behaviour can be so jarring that neither wants to tackle it in hopes of maintaining a sedative peace to the relationship. After a confrontation does take place, she is compelled to slowly give up physical parts of herself which signifies that it is just as painful to sacrifice your dreams and desires for your partner’s joy. She defends him against her father but alludes to the past memories of him helping her earlier in the marriage instead of bringing up the present, which is what happens often in toxic or abusive relationships where people hold on to an illusion of love that was experienced a long time ago. Eventually she dies trying to give up everything for him but it is in vain because he doesn’t even care to check the body as he is only interested in acknowledging and hugging the past version of her that returns. It also makes sense that a cop like him would experience “persecutory delusions” as someone who constantly views everything as a threat or an attack on him lacks the inability to be receptive and supportive of others. I did not understand the meaning behind the dog island, but the montage at the end of the short was pretty funny. Although I loved the exploration of themes as well as the comedy, the pacing wasn’t as good as the first one and the oddity can definitely be disorienting which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it definitely impacted my mood. R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich - 5/10 This was the longest short and it completely lost me. I tried to be as patient and open to it as possible but the pacing was awful and it meanders for too long with no payoff. I could not really pick out any meaningful themes from this because I was too bored and exhausted to analyse at this point. The behaviours from all the characters were too strange for my tastes. As someone who is obsessed with documentaries about cults, I really couldn’t find any interest in this one or their supernatural object of desire, and these kinds of cult themes have been explored to death in other media. It’s shot well and has some decent criticism on purity culture but that’s all the praise I can give. To conclude, I’m really glad I took almost 2 weeks to ruminate on this anthology. Because my reaction at the theatre was one of disappointment and confusion after seeing the last short. And of course Yorgos’ deadpan and absurd plots can be off putting at first but have this strangely beautiful ability to unpack the truth over time about our widely held social conventions and beliefs about relationships. Every single actor is at the top of their game in each short, and even though the stories are different I liked the choice of using the same actors as it provokes you to think about the connections between different themes and at the same time confound you with unfamiliarity. The exploration into different sexual topics like domination, subversion, violence, openness and many more was done with both subtle and overt depictions that felt mature as well as challenging to watch. I’m glad I also watched it in theatres, even though I don’t suffer from a short attention span, I was forced to sit through all the uncomfortableness for almost 3 hours and also got to enjoy the comedy with others. Taking the average of all three ratings boils down to a 8/10, and I highly recommend checking out the first two shorts.
- Patrick WillisJune 27, 2025Lanthimos' "Kinds of Kindness" falls short in several ways. The narrative feels disjointed, with characters that lack depth and development. The dialogue often comes across as forced and unnatural, failing to drive the story forward effectively. Additionally, the pacing is uneven, with some scenes dragging on while others rush through crucial moments. The film's attempt to explore complex emotions is commendable, but the execution is clumsy, resulting in a story that feels more confusing than profound. Overall, "Kinds of Kindness" is a missed opportunity to deliver a meaningful and engaging cinematic experience.
- Phillip SkoricMarch 3, 2025Weird from the beginning to the end, can recomend.
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Kinds of Kindness Trivia
Kinds of Kindness was released on May 30, 2024.
Kinds of Kindness was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
Kinds of Kindness has a runtime of 2h 44m.
Kinds of Kindness was produced by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Kasia Malipan, Yorgos Lanthimos.
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 key characters in Kinds of Kindness are Rita / Liz / Emily (Emma Stone), Robert / Daniel / Andrew (Jesse Plemons), Raymond / George / Omi (Willem Dafoe).
Kinds of Kindness is rated R.
Kinds of Kindness is a Comedy, Drama, Horror film.
Kinds of Kindness has an audience rating of 5 out of 10.
Kinds of Kindness had a budget of $15M.
Kinds of Kindness has made $16.4M at the box office.