Kinds of Kindness
This title only makes sense in the strange, tense, surreal cinematic world that director Yorgos Lanthimos plays in. To the regular viewer (If he has such an audience) There is very little kindness in any of the three stories displayed in his newest offering. All three stories feature the same cast, all excellent performances from Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, which is a lot to take in, in one viewing. (I had to do two)
The first story is a tale of control and subservience and how far a person will go to please his master and the consequences of trying to wrest yourself free from that influence and the results of doing so. Robert, played by Jesse Plemmons is under the total control of his boss Raymond played by Willem Dafoe. Every detail of his existence is dictated by his him. When ordered to kill, in a staged car crash R.M.F (his only identity). After his first unsuccessful attempt he is ordered to try again, but refuses. Raymond then fires Robert declaring him ‘free’. Without his ‘guide’ and boss his life which has been entirely orchestrated by Raymond, falls apart. Rebuffed several times after pleading forgiveness, he finally, after discovering his replacement has also failed at the same task, completes the original mission and is readmitted into Raymonds favor. There is much detail and subplot omitted in this exhausting story. It’s a slow motion car wreck that you cannot look away from.
In the second story.
Daniel, played by Plemmons is a police officer mourning the disappearance of his wife Liz, a marine biologist who went missing at sea, when he receives news that she has been rescued in a helicopter piloted by R.M.F. Liz miraculously returns unharmed to Daniel, but to him something is amiss. Her shoes no longer fit and her previous aversion to chocolate becomes an obsession along with other discrepancies. Despite her appearance he becomes convinced that this woman is not his lost wife. She announces during his increasing paranoia that she is pregnant something that was heretofore not possible. His erratic behavior results in suspension from the police force, worsening his condition. Refusing to eat he orders Liz to cut off a finger so he can eat it, then refusing to do so. Blaming the incident to his doctor on her. His madness increasing he later in a demand for more food suggesting that she cut out her own liver, which she does, then dies. Another Liz arrives at the front door they embrace and kiss. As before there are many subplots and details are omitted. In Yorgos Lanthimos's world this is just another day at the office.
In the Third Tale
Emily Played by Emma Stone is a cultist searching with her partner Andrew played by Plemmons for a woman with the power to revive the dead. The leaders of the cult Omi played by Dafoe and Aka played by Hong Chau, demand sexual allegiance. Infidelity is tested by immersion in a high temperature sauna, Aka licking the sweat to determine if they have adhered to the rules. Their first applicant fails in her reanimation task. A second woman appears suggesting that she would be the perfect candidate for their mission. Andrew brushes her off, one of the requirements being that the twin must be dead. During a visit home Emily runs into her ex and their daughter. As she is attempting to leave after her second visit he drugs and rapes her. Failing after taking her to be tested she is expelled from the cult. She visits the second applicant who tells Emily that she has now fulfilled the requirements by killing herself leaving her sister to reanimate R.M.F.S body, which she does. Overjoyed she bundles Ruth (the surviving twin, who performed the reanimation) into the car returning to the Cults headquarters with the hope of being readmitted, crashing the car while distracted killing her charge. Once more this is a sketch of the story. A tale of acceptance, its loss and the effort to try and regain it. Along with bringing the dead back to life. A fools errand if there ever was one.
425 stars. (6 out of ten on the squeam o’meter)
