The full-length trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film is both baffling and captivating. Searchlight Pictures dropped the trailer for Kinds of Kindness last Wednesday, and as with any project by Lanthimos, expect the unexpected: a blend of humor, discomfort, and sheer oddity.
Set to Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” the trailer reveals little about the actual plot but paints a picture of an unsettling world through what Lanthimos refers to as his bizarre fable.
Three Interwoven Yet Separate Stories
The film presents three distinct narratives: First, there’s a man struggling to seize control of his life despite feeling powerless. Then, a policeman whose supposedly missing-at-sea wife returns, only to seem like a different person. Finally, we have a woman on a quest to find someone with an extraordinary ability that marks them as a future spiritual leader.
Don’t neatly link these stories together
, Lanthimos suggests in the trailer. Common threads and themes indeed run through all three tales, leaving much to be mulled over by the audience.
Puzzle Pieces Not Fully Aligned
Jesse Plemons‘ character mumbles to Willem Dafoe’s character moments reflecting unfathomable tension. At one point, he reveals: She asked me to fuck her in my uniform, and then hit me hard.
Disturbing? Undoubtedly. But it captures the precarious nature of their relationship.
Emma Stone, no stranger to working with Lanthimos after collaborations in The Favourite and Poor Things, portrays various roles within this peculiar triptych. A striking image from the trailer shows her dancing in a parking lot – eccentric yet unmistakable under Lanthimos’s direction.
Exploring Difficult Themes Through Unsettling Scenes
The narratives unfold like a trifecta of grim fairy tales interlaced with dark humor. According to critic David Fear: It’s just as head-scratching, humiliation-friendly and downright unsettling as those early reputation-establishing works. Maybe moreso.
An All-Star Cast to Watch Out For
A veritable who’s who of talent headlines the ensemble cast – Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer alongside Stone and Plemons add robust performances into Lanthimos’s eerie cinematic universe.
A Must-Watch for Aficionados of Peculiar Cinema
Kinds of Kindness received enthusiastic praises following its screening at Cannes. Describing it as his most personal project yet, Lanthimos entices both fans and cinema lovers alike with his unique narrative style marked by depth and surrealism.
The film opens in theaters on June 21. Whether you’ll find delight or bewilderment within its runtime remains to be seen – but one thing is certain; you won’t emerge from the experience untouched.
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