Kinds of Kindness
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.
- Released:
- Runtime: 164 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Stars: Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Elton LeBlanc, Mamoudou Athie, Victoria Harris, Hunter Schafer, Emma Stone, Merah Benoit, Krystal Alayne Chambers, Ja'Quan Monroe-Henderson, Susan Elle, Nathan Mulligan, Christian M. Letellier, Julianne Binard, Lance Michael Weller, Susan Elle, Tessa Bourgeois
- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Comments
- chrysap - 3 June 2024
Review
Concerning the first story, I think that it painted the picture of a scared man who did not trust himself, did not believe in his power and was therefore easily manipulated. This man was looking for a messiah, somebody who could tell him what to do, how to act and even what to eat and drink. The old guy is a narcissist who found an easy prey to manipulate. The narcissist ordered the young man toy kill R. M. F, because he wanted to ensure that he ( the young man ) would do anything he asked him to do. When the young man said no to killing R. M. F and decided to leave the narcissist, he found himself having trouble taking life in his own hands. He was isolated and completely alone, because that is exactly what a narcissist will do. Because the young man could not believe in his own power and felt so alone and isolated he decided to kill R. M. F. Killing R. M. F granted him a place back into the narcissist's abusive and controlling behavior.
R. M. F's death symbolizes the death of the free will of the young man who succumbed to the narcissist and therefore forever lost his own power.
The first story perfectly pictures what happens when we are looking for a messiah, an external force to save us. The only one who can save us is our self.
The second story, I believe, wanted to get across the same message. The young man was so dependent on his wife that he could not survive without her. While she was missing he was losing his mind. The problem was that he wanted her to be the exact same person she was when she met her. Even the slightest of change in her behavior made him lose his mind. On the other hand, the young woman was scared to leave her husband because he had been there for her in the past. So she stayed in this abusive relationship. The young man's demand towards his wife to give him her thumb and liver to eat for dinner symbolized the effort this young man was making to kill this version of his wife so he could get the previous version of his wife back.
The third story showed, in my opinion, how absurd it really is to be searching for a messiah.
This woman was looking for something so absurd and illogical that she abandoned her husband and her daughter. She took part in a cult which made her do illogical things and she did all of those things without thinking, without considering the absurdity of them all. Her husband tried trough a violent act to make her leave the cult. But even after being kicked out of the cult, the young woman continued searching for her messiah, only to find her and then lose her.
The last scene of the movie truly captures the message that the movie wants to get across.
There are no messiahs, no external forces that can save you. The only person that can save you is you and you need to believe in yourself enough to understand that you are your messiah.
