Kinds of Kindness
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
- comedy
- drama
The story
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
What it’s like
Cold, precise framing and flat, even lighting give this anthology a sterile, pale-toned look, like a stylised suburban catalogue where every room is too clean and every smile is slightly held too long. Lanthimos's camera is static and symmetrical, often locking on people in wide interiors with the walls and furniture arranged like a diagram, while the score swells in mournful strings and sudden orchestral stabs that undercut the deadpan. Its vibe is bleakly comic and unsettling, with a clinical, distant warmth. It plays best late at night when you want something strange and icy rather than soothing. The three stories unfold at a deliberately stiff, rhythmic pace, each following a person pressed by rigid rules and manipulative relationships. Intensity runs high: there is sexual violence, mental and physical cruelty, bodily harm, and some graphic and disturbing scenes, delivered with a cool, absurdist detachment rather than as thrills. This is not gentle viewing. It suits people who enjoy dark comedy, anthology films, and bruised, uncomfortable character studies.
More films like Kinds of Kindness
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Kinds of Kindness and we’ll explain which ones fit you.
