The latest collab between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Kinds of Kindness, had a hot start but fizzled quickly halfway through. Clocking in at a grueling 165 minutes, it seems to suffer from the age-old curse of self-indulgence.
A Triptych of Cautionary Tales
Kinds of Kindness is made up of three separate stories interwoven in an anthology format that clash more than they synergize. We see familiar faces such as Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margot Qualley, and Hong Chau. The stories revolve around themes of control, suspicion, and loss.
The Death of RMF
The first segment places Jesse Plemons‘ character Robert under the thumb of his domineering boss Raymond, played by a compelling Willem Dafoe. His life is dictated entirely by Raymond, who controls everything down to what Robert eats and reads. This control even extends to his wife, portrayed by Hong Chau. The narrative takes a sinister turn when Robert rebels against Raymond’s master plan. This segment features an interesting dynamic but tends to drag at points.
An Uncanny Return
The second tale focuses on Plemons‘ character Daniel, a police officer coping with the mysterious return of his wife Liz, portrayed by Emma Stone, after she was presumed lost at sea. Daniel’s initial relief is soon overshadowed by creeping doubts about whether Liz is truly herself. In this story, Liz’s strange new habits lead Daniel on a paranoid journey, but the tension dissipates as the narrative stretches into monotony.
The Power of Resurrection
The final segment sees Stone and Plemons team up again as Emily and Andrew. This duo is engaged in interviewing women for potential resurrection abilities—a premise that sounds intriguing but unfolds rather lifelessly. Their involvement in a sex cult led by Omi (Dafoe) and Aka (Chau) does little more than add unnecessary distractions to an already convoluted story.
Final Word
Certainly, combining different stories with a recurring cast is an interesting narrative technique, but it’s also where Kinds of Kindness falters. While the performances—particularly from Stone and Dafoe—are solid, the storytelling lacks cohesion. Instead of delivering layered narratives, we are left with overextended tales that would benefit from streamlined brevity. As one critic noted, The first story could be seen as a manipulative sort of kindness, but the second two are blatantly hostile stories.
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