Monday, 15 July 2024

Kinds of Kindness - The scoop and digest

Yorgos Lanthimos directs and co-writes latest slice of absurdist pie with regular collaborator Efthimis Filippou.

Emma Stone - Rita, Liz and Emily
Jesse Plemons - Robert, Daniel and Andrew
Willem Dafoe - Raymond, George and Omi
Margaret Qualley - Vivian, Martha, Ruth and Rebecca
Hong Chau - Sarah, Sharon and Aka
Mamoudou Athie - Will, Neil and morgue nurse
Yorgos Stefanakos - R.M.F.

Summary

Each story is loosely connected.

The Death of R.M.F.

Robert's life is controlled and monitored by his boss and lover, Raymond.

Bastard even secretly paid doctors to abort his children.

When Raymond orders Robert to kill a man called R.M.F., he refuses, and his life goes down the pan.

R.M.F. is Flying

Police officer Daniel mourns the disappearance of his wife Liz, who went missing at sea x amount of time ago.

One night, he receives the news that R.M.F. rescued her via helicopter.

However, Daniel grows suspicious of Liz's disturbing behaviour, leading him to believe that she might not be his wife after all.

R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich

Emily and Andrew seek a woman with the ability to reanimate the dead.

Cult leader Omi gives them information on a possible candidate, only to find that she's already dead.

Emily believes the woman they're looking for appeared in one of her dreams.  While dining at a restaurant, a woman named Rebecca resembles the woman she dreamed about approaches them, and says her twin sister Ruth is exactly who they're looking for, but Andrew isn't convinced.

Mid-credits

A now revived R.M.F. munches on a sandwich, spilling ketchup on his shirt.

Misanthropic madness

According to director, initials R.M.F. (film's original title, later changed to And) references nothing.

People can theorize meaning all they want, but what's the point?

Triptych fable is a chore, but absorbing.  Personally speaking, I enjoyed Flying the most.

Composer Jerskin Fendrix (returning from Poor Things), mixes dissonant piano strokes with haunting vocalisations, fitting mood like a glove.

Performances are consistently solid, but Plemons is the glue holding shit together.

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