📝 Reviewing: Kinds of Kindness (2024)
There's only one constant in life, and that's death. We're all just trying to survive and find some kind of meaning. Some kind of kindness that might ease the pain of the inevitable ending that will come for as all.
Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things was one of my favorite films of 2023. It balanced absurdity with humor, the joy of curiosity, and the cost of love. Emma Stone's remarkable performance anchored the film with a captivating portrayal that added depth to its bizarre and mesmerizing world.
In his follow-up, Kinds of Kindness, Lanthimos crafts three loosely intertwined stories. The first story follows a man seeking to escape his predetermined path. The second focuses on a cop who questions his wife's demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning. The third tells of a woman searching for an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.
Much like Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness also contains absurdity, humor, and the lengths one would go to for love. However, in the latter, because it uses a triptych device, the narrative thread feels disjointed as each story ends before any character can grow.
The most distinct trait of a film that will remove me from immersion is its dialogue. If characters take turns speaking while frequently calling each other by name, I’m immediately removed from the film as that comes off as rigid and rudimentary. And Kinds of Kindness falls into that trap. Its dialogue and structure push the limits of coherence and believability, much like Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! which tests the boundaries of absurdity, shock, and metaphor to see what it can get away with.
My interpretation of Kinds of Kindness is that it explores the idea that people often do bad things in an attempt to achieve something good. While characters strive to be kind for love or acceptance, many are hurt along the way. Lanthimos seems to suggest that the path to kindness is fraught with missteps and unintended consequences.
I appreciate that Lanthimos’ distinctive style continues to provoke and intrigue, and I’m thrilled that studios are giving him the resources to continue creating unique works, but films of this kind, kind of leave me feeling Punk’d. Kinds of Kindness is currently playing in theaters.
📣 Recommending: Ghostlight (2024)
According to theater tradition and superstition, the ghostlight wards off spirits that are believed to inhabit theaters. It's thought to keep them company and prevents them from causing disturbances.
Ghostlight, the latest film from writer Kelly O'Sullivan and director Alex Thompson, is the follow-up to their debut, Saint Frances — which I highly recommend, especially if you’re a Lady Bird fan from the Midwest. Ghostlight tells the story of a construction worker who unexpectedly finds himself performing in a community theater production of Romeo & Juliet.
The familiar play and its tragedies are used to mirror similar themes in Ghostlight. This creatively blurs the lines between life and art making some of the film’s scenes even more profound as they’re true to the film’s play and its protagonist.
The cast delivers believable performances, bringing depth and relatability to their roles — a task made easier since the three leads are a real-life family. This small cast performing a small production in a small town makes the film feel close, both in location and emotion.
Ghostlight is a warm and tender reminder of how art can reflect and illuminate our lives, leading us toward understanding, connection, and the importance of being earnest. Ghostlight is currently playing in limited release.
Thanks for being here.
— Justin