So much to unpack in Kinds of Kindness, the new film from Director Yorgos Lathimos, whose most recent film, Poor Things, was one of the top-rated, top-award-winning films of 2023. Kind of Kindness has little of the joy of Poor Things but that's not to say there's less to enjoy. In fact, much of the enjoyment I found in Poor Things was due to the cinematic artistry of the film. Kinds of Kindness is nothing of the sort. It is shot cleanly, unemotionally and, at times, very clinically. In fact, the very style of the film is also resoundingly, and cleverly, echoed by the characters themselves.

Be Anhedonic. That's the 50-cent word for you on what I perceive to be how Lanthimos directed his actors in Kinds of Kindness. That is, their characters must depict no ability to experience joy or pleasure. They must at all times be emotionally flat-lined. Additionally, I found that the characters exhibit a blatant lack of affect – they may feel emotions, but are unable to express them, or may express them incorrectly.

Kindness is presented as a triptych. That is, three stories, with similar characteristics, where the actors are cast in a variety of non-intersecting roles. Without getting into the plots too deeply, because that would be detrimental to your enjoyment of the film, and I hate spoilers, each section of the triptych does involve a similar idea, which is sacrifice. But not in the sense you'd imagine.

In these segments, there is the sacrifice of morality, of individuality, of the characters actual selves. Lathimos is exploring the idea of how much are his characters willing to sacrifice to “belong” to something or someone else? Where is your own line in the sand? How much of yourself will you cut away till you become absorbed into something else? Is there anything you would refuse to do to “belong”. Yes, you know... the “c” word. He is exploring the idea of the cult: of personality, of group think, of even dying for love of something ... or someone.

The actors rotating in the triptych are Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau and Mamoudou Athie. Segment one, entitled The Death of R.M.F., explores a wealthy industrialist William Dafoe, asking Jesse Plemons, his favorite employee, to cause a fatal car crash. Not for any reason except to see if he will follow orders, bend to his employer's perverse will.  

In this segment, Plemons is married to Hong Chau; Margaret Qualley is Dafoe's very-much-younger live-in paramour. Plemons has already sacrificed much of his life and marriage for Dafoe's enjoyment, and has been amply rewarded. Emma Stone is a woman who seems to appear in Plemons' life at exactly the right moment. But all is not as it appears. For some reason, I found this particular segment to be very reminiscent of another film, The Killing of A Sacred Deer. And, apparently, for good reason – Lanthimos also directed that film, in 2017.

Triptych number two is R.M.F. Is Flying. In this scenario, Plemons is a cop who is married to Stone. Dafoe is Stone's father. Stone is a brilliant award-winning scientist/researcher who, with a number of her fellow researchers, has disappeared in a fatal boating accident. Everyone believes all aboard have been lost at sea. Plemons is despondent. His best friend and partner, Athie, married to Qualley, is unable to console him. Plemons does not believe his wife is dead.

Many days pass. Suddenly Plemons gets the call he has been waiting for. The rescue chopper brings good news! Yet again, all is not as it appears. We see bizarre activities in Plemon's home. Dreamlike visualizations of strange, powerful dogs. Physical abuse. Plemons seems to be acting extremely peculiarly, like one possessed. Shooting people during random traffic stops.  The questions multiply: who is willing to sacrifice what, for whom... and why?

Which brings us to the third in the series: R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich. You'll have to wait till the credits roll to see that actually happen. In the meantime, Stone's character has fled what appears to be a very unhappy marriage. She also may or may not be currently married to Plemons, depending on whom she is speaking to. In any event, the pair are both enamored of Dafoe, who, in this segment, portrays an extremely oversexualized individual named Omi. Omi's partner is Hong Chau. They appear to have a pre-teen son and live within a wealthy quasi-religious commune of sorts. Chau tells the couple they have arrived at just the right time to have sex with Omi, because she's having her period. Stone and Plemons have an unemotional conversation around who will 'go first' with Omi, who doesn't seem to care who is in his bed. The commune-dwellers are in search of 'the one' who will bring all their fantasies to fruition. Stone and Plemons mission is to seek out potential candidates to bring back to the commune. 

Dafoe and Chau utilize a hothouse to 'cleanse' their followers till they pass out from heat exhaustion. After these ceremonies, the couple cry tears into a vast tub; this collected liquid is used for a number of purposes including drinking water. Much ado is made about 'purification'.  Meanwhile, Stone and Plemons audition their potentials by bringing them to a local morgue, overseen by Athie, to test their resurrection skills. Qualley is cast in a dual-role in this third segment, playing a woman and her twin sister, who may hold the key that Stone and Plemons are searching for. But then again, things may not be as they appear.

Let's circle back to the anhedonia.  In every segment, Stone is horribly abused in some fashion. Yet never, until she is cut loose from one of her three situations, does she raise her voice or exhibit any sense of frustration, sadness, loss or anger. She remains expressionless, regardless of what she is doing or what is done to her. A direct contrast to her completely joyful life-affirming role in Poor Things. 

In Kindness, Stone loses her “self” completely, willingly bending to the commands of those she sees as leaders. Plemons appears a bit more unaffected by the bizarreness of each of his situations. However, like Stone, he becomes frantic when cast adrift from his own safe harbor. 

In marked contrast, in two of his three segments, Dafoe is spot-on when he absolutely, hilariously and joyfully portrays the materialism and perversions we often see exhibited by some of those in possession of extreme wealth and/or extreme power. The rulers pushing buttons just to get a reaction from their subjects.  Absolute corruption etc. etc. etc.

Kinds of Kindnesses is a film that you'll want to see with someone else, or a group of someone's, just to get a post-viewing analysis.

Lisa Blanck is the Associate Editor / Movie Reviewer for In Focus-Magazine.com and is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida.  Her background includes 30+ years of digital editing for NBC and CBS News affiliates.  She also edits national promotional spots for Matter Of Fact, the #1 nationally syndicated news & information program.  For 30+ years she has covered the Florida Film Festival & the World Peace Film Festival, and has additional award-winning experience in advertising, marketing, promotions and live special events with MTV Networks.