Kinds of Kindness

Kinds of Kindness, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and co-written by frequent collaborator Efthimis Filippou, is a tale told in three parts. The common thread between all three of them is an appearance from a character, a minor one on screen, who plays a huge part in the choices that are made. And those choices that are made look at humanity under a microscope. When we view ourselves that close up, we might not always like what we see.

The film balances a number of tones. Its darkness sometimes veers close to horror territory. Its ironic cynicism is so bleak that it comes across as a pitch-black comedy. And some of the over-the-top plotlines, exaggerating human drama for the sheer experiment of it all, dabble into melodrama. But every decision Lanthimos makes as a storyteller feels like the correct one. So assured is he in these stories, and the manipulation of his audience, that even little moments feel as important as the larger ones. Whether a character is showing someone a picture of their disinterested child, or a character has made the decision to murder someone, it all carries a tremendous amount of dramatic weight.

I dare not give away too much of the story itself because so much of what happened was shocking in its unpredictability. In an era where modern audiences complain about formula films running amok, Kinds of Kindness returns to a narrative form where the plot unfolds not by a need to get from Point A to Point B, but because someone along the line a character made a decision that shifted the trajectory of their journey. It’s all very character-based in how it unfolds. And in the film’s examination of some truly despicable people, it plumbs the darkest depths of the soul without flinching - though it does sometimes laugh at what it finds.

Jesse Plemons continues to be one of my favorite actors working today. In three separate stories, playing three separate characters, he brings a specific nuance to all three roles that feels invigorating to watch. And while the rest of the case is stacked with phenomenal performers, this is Plemons’ hour and he owns this movie.

Physical media reviewers have an advantage that other film critics do not. When a critic is reviewing a new movie, they’re experiencing it brand new. I have the luxury of being divorced from its immediate anticipation—in this case, by many months (almost a year), and in some cases, by decades. I’m able to see a movie on its own terms. So, instead of being disappointed that it wasn’t as grand and ambitious as its predecessor, Poor Things, I’m able to see it as a return to narrative themes more similar to something like Dogtooth. And while I have to concede that Kinds of Kindness is, indeed, many of the things it’s been accused of, namely that it’s a self-indulgent, overly long vanity project rife with cannibalism, murder and rape, it is also frequently brilliant.

Art can be hard to digest sometimes. I watched Kinds of Kindness and I enjoyed it. I don’t believe that I fully understood it and I likely never will. There are movies in my library that I’ve watched 50 times and I’m still picking up little clues here and there that deepen my appreciation of it. Kinds of Kindness feels like that kind of dense work, where it encourages multiple viewings to invite varying interpretations into the minds of individual viewers. I don’t believe it means any one thing. I think it’s saying a lot, and it’s saying it eloquently, and it’s going to take a long time before I truly “get” what it’s saying.

As it stands now, I think that Kinds of Kindness is a fantastic, fascinating work.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Kinds of Kindness is packaged without any bells or whistles. There are no reversible covers with alternate artwork, inside booklets or anything else beyond what’s totally necessary. The film comes on a single Blu-ray disc, housed in a standard case, with a slipcover that features identical artwork and back info to the case itself.

Kinds of Kindness is presented in 1080p high-definition video and it looks absolutely radiant. The movie was shot on film, 35mm, and it shows. I don’t mean to drag video, but there’s a look about something that was shot on film and, if done correctly, the results are immediately registered. Robbie Ryan, the film’s cinematographer, puts in some of their best work. The colors are deep, rich, and vibrant. Primary colors like red really pop. The golden color palate, with amber lights hugging actors’ faces, is reminiscent of Gordon Willis’ work on The Godfather, particularly in nighttime scenes where the rest of the actor disappears, swallowed by shadowy darkness. Beyond the fantastically realized colors of the film, features are sharp and crisp. Fine details are noticeable throughout and clarity of the image, in its complex compositions, is always prioritized. It’s never show-offy for the sake of it, it’s all in the performance of telling a story.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix on Kinds of Kindness isn’t a mind-blowing experience, but it’s a damn good one. Rear speaker activity is nearly constant, whether through Jerskin Fendrix’s score that runs the gamut from minimalist to operatic, or ambient effects and overflow effects like blowing wind, and echoing voices in a wide open office with tiled floors. In the final story, Emma Stone’s purple Dodge Challenger seems tailor-made for a surround sound mix, with squealing tires shrieking their way to the rear sound stage and the subwoofer rumbling in delight from the engine’s LFE. Kinds of Kindness is, at the end of it all, a dialogue-driven film, so dialogue clarity is its top priority and the movie wisely avoids mumbly performances. This feels almost like a play, where actors project in a way that, while it doesn’t necessarily feel “naturalistic” it feels larger than life.

Kinds of Kindness is, sadly, scant on the supplemental features end of things. On the Blu-ray disc, there is a featurette about the film, along with two short deleted scenes. There are no audio commentaries or essays from critics. Who knows? In a few years maybe this movie will get a deluxe 4K treatment with retrospective video essays after we’ve had a chance to digest and analyze it.

• It Takes All Kinds: The Vision of Kinds of Kindness (HD 15:14)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 1:04)

Kinds of Kindness is a difficult movie that can be hard to gauge. It’s nihilistic. It’s graphically violent. It never pulls its punches. And at nearly three hours, this is a big ask for an audience, to be exposed to such cruelty and unpleasantness for such a sustained period of time. And so, this movie is not for everyone. But for those with strong stomachs, it’s an ambitious film that takes chances. With such a unique story given wonderful video presentation and an excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound mix, this Blu-ray releases comes Highly Recommended.