Three stories revolve around a man who tries to take control of his own life, a policeman whose wife seems like a different person, and a woman who searches for someone with a special ability. A film by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer.

Directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Efthimis Filippou, KINDS OF KINDNESS is an engaging anthology film made up of three absurd and surreal short stories. With unexpected twists and turns, it keeps viewers hooked as we want to know how these narratives unfold and intertwine.

A man (Yorgos Stefanakos) shows up at Raymond’s house. Raymond’s wife Vivian (Margaret Qualley) is there to greet him. While on the phone with Raymond, Vivian describes R.M.F.’s outfit in detail – the type of shoes he’s wearing, the color of his pants, and a white shirt with the initials “RMF” embroidered on it. She then snaps a photo of R.M.F. with her phone and sends it to Raymond for approval. Once Raymond is satisfied, Vivian hands R.M.F. a brown envelope, presumably full of cash. R.M.F. then leaves the house.

Later that evening, Robert (Jesse Plemons) is parked near the Perdido intersection, waiting. As a black sedan approaches from the opposite direction, Robert floors the accelerator, deliberately ramming his car into the sedan. Robert steps out of his vehicle and approaches the black sedan, which reveals the driver to be R.M.F., unharmed. An ambulance arrives shortly after, and Robert requests the paramedics take him to the hospital for a thorough examination. He even asks to be admitted for a couple days of monitoring. But when the test results come back, they show Robert is perfectly fine, allowing him to be discharged from the hospital.

At the office, the film reveals that Robert’s boss Raymond (Willem Dafoe) is the mastermind behind the entire situation. Every day, Raymond gives Robert detailed instructions in the form of a card, dictating what outfit he should wear, what food and beverages he must consume, which book he should read, and even whether he should have sexual intercourse with his wife Sarah (Hong Chau). Raymond is disappointed when Robert fails in his task to kill R.M.F. in a car crash. He demands Robert try again, but Robert refuses to commit murder. It’s then disclosed that Raymond isn’t just Robert’s domineering boss, but also his lover. Raymond fires Robert from the company but allows him to keep the house and car. Frustrated, Robert confesses to Sarah that their entire relationship, from the moment they met and married, was all part of Raymond’s plan, including the real reason why Sarah is unable to have children.

The first story is probably my favorite of the three. The narrative is disturbing yet convincingly believable. After Raymond fires Robert, he becomes completely lost, unable to make any decisions or try anything new. His life has been so controlled and dictated by Raymond for so long that he’s incapable of deciding for himself. Robert yearns to go back to the way things were, craving the structure and approval Raymond provided.

Police officer Daniel (Jesse Plemons) becomes worried after his beloved wife Liz (Emma Stone), a marine biologist, goes missing at sea along with her team. He invites his best friend Neil (Mamoudou Athie) and Neil’s wife Martha (Margaret Qualley) over for dinner at his house. After dinner, Daniel asks if they could stay and watch old videos to remember Liz, who is still missing. Initially hesitant, Neil and Martha agree to join Daniel in watching a homemade sex tape featuring the four of them.

Since Liz went missing, Daniel sometimes receives mysterious phone calls that only produce static noise. He gradually becomes convinced that Liz is trying to reach out to him. Later, he receives the good news that Liz has been rescued, along with her colleague Jonathan. They are brought back by a helicopter piloted by R.M.F. (Yorgos Stefanakos). While Daniel is initially relieved that Liz is safe, he soon grows suspicious and paranoid, convinced that the person who has returned isn’t really Liz but rather an impersonator or something that merely looks like her.

The second story is quite surreal and unsettling, featuring scenes that feel unnecessary and confusing. Jesse Plemons delivers an exceptional performance as a paranoid officer, although it’s unclear whether everything we see is real, as some events conveniently happen offscreen and rely solely on the characters’ descriptions of what occurred.

Emily (Emma Stone) and her partner Andrew (Jesse Plemons) are on an important mission to search for a woman who, according to prophecy, possesses a unique gift that can revive the dead. They assess a woman named Anna (Hunter Schafer) who matches the criteria, but she fails the test, unable to reanimate a dead man, R.M.F. (Yorgos Stefanakos).

While driving back to the motel, Emily tells Andrew that she always knew Anna wasn’t the person they were looking for. She shares a dream she had about being stuck at the bottom of a pool, where she was rescued by one of the twin synchronized swimmers. Emily believes this swimmer is the one they need to find. Later, They return to report their findings to cult leaders Omi (Willem Dafoe) and his wife Aka (Hong Chau) at their headquarters. When Emily leaves with Omi and Aka’s son Jack (Kien Michael Spille) to see his new hedgehog, Omi turns to Andrew and asks if he would prefer to have sex with him or with Aka. Andrew chooses Omi.

While they search for another potential candidate, Emily and Andrew stop at a diner, where they are approached by a woman who introduces herself as Rebecca King (Margaret Qualley). Rebecca claims to know exactly who they are looking for — her twin sister, Ruth. However, Andrew doesn’t believe anything Rebecca says. Instead, he introduces himself as Mark and Emily as Stephanie, lying that they are there to visit Stephanie’s parents. Ignoring Andrew, Rebecca turns to Emily and calls her by her real name, despite Andrew just telling her that his wife’s name is Stephanie. Rebecca hands Emily Ruth’s business card and tells her that when they meet Ruth, she will understand exactly what it means.

This story is my least favorite due to its ambiguous narrative and the many unanswered questions it leaves behind. For example, it never really explains why the cult is desperately searching for this particular woman with supernatural gifts. Is she meant to be their new leader? What would happen if she doesn’t want to join the cult? What would become of the cult if this woman is never found? Perhaps the entire search is irrelevant.

It also fails to explain why Emily left her family to join the cult, even though she regularly sneaks back into the house when her estranged husband Joseph (Joe Alwyn) and their daughter (Merah Benoit) are away. She even sprinkles some kind of holy water in their daughter’s room. The search feels overly convenient, almost comical in its presentation, yet Emily and Andrew simply choose to ignore it.

While I like the ending, which is not entirely unexpected, it isn’t as memorable as I had hoped it would be. Overall, this story feels like an episode from The Twilight Zone.

KINDS OF KINDNESS premiered at Festival de Cannes on 17 May 2024, where Jesse Plemons won Prix d’interprétation masculine (Best Actor Award). The film was theatrically released in the United States on 21 June.