Bayou Film | Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness

review by Tabitha McBride

“Sweet dreams are made of this / Who am I to disagree? / I travel the world and the seven seas / Everybody’s looking for something”
  -“Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” by Eurythmics

Yorgos Lanthimos, the director behind Poor Things, The Favourite, and The Lobster, returns with Kinds of Kindness, a disorienting and darkly funny triptych fable. In this unique film, Lanthimos presents three interconnected stories, each featuring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, and Hong Chau, who each play three different characters across the film’s three acts.

This absurdist dark comedy unfolds through three distinct narratives: one about a man desperate to win his boss’s favor, another about a man who insists that his wife—recently returned from a mysterious boating accident—isn’t really his wife, and a third about a pair on a quest to find a young woman with a magical ability. Although these plots are strikingly different, they all exist within the same strange universe. The characters, though immersed in absurdity, remain hauntingly real and relatable, each grappling with their own quests for love and acceptance.

The film opens with the evocati 80s ballad “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics, a choice that perfectly encapsulates the film’s central theme of searching for something elusive. The score, crafted by Jerskin Fendrix—who also composed for Poor Things—is minimal yet striking. The music features staccato piano riffs and unsettling, dissonant choral elements that heighten the thematic tension and emotional depth of each story.

Though each story never has a defined setting, a Louisiana native might quickly detect the film was shot on location in New Orleans. The distinctive waterfront homes, looming live oaks, and draping Spanish moss give it away. Even though the stories don’t name New Orleans as their setting, I have to say the location adds to the strangeness, and the sort of magic this film has in its heart. 

I recommend seeing the film with little to no knowledge of the individual plots—so don’t do any additional research after reading this review! However, a fair warning: some content could be disturbing for even the most mature viewers. The second act suggests the occurrence of a sexual assault.

Kinds of Kindness is a one-of-a-kind film. It does not offer happy endings but births a curiosity to ponder what borders the line between cruelty and kindness.