---
title: "Kinds of Kindness"
year: 2024
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/kinds-of-kindness"
fi1m_id: "kinds-of-kindness"
imdb_id: "tt22408160"
tmdb_id: 1029955
wikidata_id: "Q114345051"
fi1m_score: 63
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 25
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:59.342060+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Kinds of Kindness (2024)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos · 2h 44m · MPA R · Comedy, Drama

## Identity

Kinds of Kindness

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/kinds-of-kindness
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** kinds-of-kindness
- **IMDb ID:** tt22408160
- **TMDB ID:** 1029955
- **Wikidata ID:** Q114345051
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22408160/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1029955, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q114345051

**Fi1m score: 63** · Critics 64 from 25 reviews

*In a sentence:* Willem Dafoe decides what Jesse Plemons eats, reads and does in bed

> Lanthimos reunites with Efthimis Filippou for three cold fables about doing as you are told, and the first is as sharp as anything he has made. The other two repeat its lesson, and 164 minutes is a long time to be taught one thing.

## Synopsis

Three stories, one cast. In the first, Robert (Jesse Plemons) works for Raymond (Willem Dafoe), who decides what he eats, what he reads and when he sleeps with his wife (Hong Chau); a new instruction makes Robert hesitate. In the second, a policeman (Plemons) waits for his wife Liz (Emma Stone), a marine researcher lost at sea, and does not believe the woman who comes home is her. In the third, Emily (Stone) and Andrew (Plemons) search on behalf of a cult for a woman who can raise the dead. Margaret Qualley, Mamoudou Athie and Joe Alwyn take different roles in each. Yorgos Lanthimos directs from a script written with Efthimis Filippou. It runs 164 minutes, certificate 18.

## Review

Yorgos Lanthimos has followed [*Poor Things*](https://film.one/film/poor-things) with something closer to the films that first got him noticed. *Kinds of Kindness* is three stories of roughly fifty minutes each, played by the same handful of actors in different parts, and each is about a person who has handed their life to someone else and is now finding out what that costs. He wrote it with Efthimis Filippou, who wrote *Dogtooth* and *The Lobster* with him, and the tone is theirs: flat, exact, and funny in a way that makes you check whether anyone else in the room is laughing. The first story is as good as anything Lanthimos has made. The other two say the same thing again, and the whole runs 164 minutes.

Robert (Jesse Plemons) works for Raymond (Willem Dafoe), who decides what Robert eats, what he reads, how much he weighs and when he sleeps with his wife, Sarah (Hong Chau). Robert has agreed to all of this and believes he is happy. Then Raymond gives him a new instruction, involving a car and a stranger, and Robert hesitates for the first time. Plemons plays him with a small fixed smile and eyes that keep sliding towards Dafoe for approval, and we laughed, often and a little uneasily, at how completely the smile stops working once the approval is withdrawn. Dafoe, meanwhile, is all warmth: the tyrant as a fond uncle, handing out gifts and never once raising his voice.

The second story gives Plemons a policeman, Daniel, whose wife Liz (Emma Stone), a marine researcher, has been lost at sea. She comes home. Daniel decides she is not his wife: her feet are the wrong size for her shoes, she eats chocolate when she used to refuse it. Stone plays Liz as a woman so afraid of losing him that she will agree to anything, and Lanthimos tests exactly how far that goes. There is a scene at a kitchen table, some way into this section, that we watched through our fingers and will not describe. It is the one point in the film where the cruelty is plainly about something, and it works because Robbie Ryan’s camera stays on Stone’s face rather than on what her hands are doing.

The third story is the longest and the slackest. Emily (Stone) and Andrew (Plemons) drive around town for a cult led by Omi (Dafoe) and Aka (Chau), looking for a woman who can raise the dead; Emily has left a husband (Joe Alwyn) and a small daughter to do it, and Margaret Qualley turns up as twins, one of whom may be the woman they want. The premise is the best of the three and the film does the least with it. The point about obedience has already been made twice, and Lanthimos fills the extra time with rituals, a sauna and a swimming pool, none of which tell us anything the first hour did not.

Ryan, after the fisheye lenses and candlelight of *Poor Things*, shoots this straight: wide lenses, hard daylight, beige offices and hospital corridors. Anthony Gasparro’s rooms are anonymous on purpose, the sort of American interiors where nothing is older than the carpet, and Jennifer Johnson puts Robert in suits so neat they look chosen by somebody else, which they were. Jerskin Fendrix’s score is the funniest thing here after Plemons: single piano chords struck too hard, a choir that bursts in for a bar and stops as if someone had shut a door on a rehearsal. Yorgos Mavropsaridis cuts each story cleanly and cuts none of them enough; every one could lose ten minutes and be better for it.

Against Lanthimos’s own record this sits nearer *The Killing of a Sacred Deer* than *The Favourite*. *Dogtooth* made a similar case about the family as a small dictatorship and was done in an hour and a half. Here the same case is made three times in a row, and each retelling is a little more pleased with itself than the last.

See it for the first story, which is close to perfect, and for Plemons, who is different in all three parts and best in the one where he is allowed to be frightened. It carries an 18 and it earns it. And if you are watching at home and the second title card comes up, there is no shame in deciding that you have already seen a good film and going to bed.

*Fi1m score 63, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics agree on what Kinds of Kindness is: a return to the colder, crueller Lanthimos of his earlier films, three linked stories about control and submission played by the same cast in shifting roles. Where they part is on whether that is welcome. The praise clusters around the ensemble, and around Jesse Plemons above all, whose performances across the three parts are singled out more often than anything else in the film. Emma Stone is often named alongside him.

The reservations are about length, repetition and purpose: several reviews find the second and third stories restating the first, and a smaller group finds the cruelty self-admiring and empty. The spread is wide. Around three fifths of reviews are positive, but the dissenters include the Los Angeles Times, which sees forced weirdness from a director anxious to seem cool again, and The New Yorker, which finds artistic fatigue. Nobody calls it easy.

## Straight answers

**Is Kinds of Kindness worth watching?**

*Kinds of Kindness* is worth watching for the first of its three stories, which is as sharp as anything Lanthimos has made, and we scored it 63. The other two repeat the same lesson about obedience over 164 minutes, so it suits admirers of *Dogtooth* and *The Lobster* more than anyone who found *Poor Things* their way in.

**How long is Kinds of Kindness, and what is it rated?**

*Kinds of Kindness* runs 2h 44m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch Kinds of Kindness in the US?**

*Kinds of Kindness* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Kinds of Kindness, and is it suitable for children?**

*Kinds of Kindness* carries an 18 certificate and earns it, so it is not for children or younger teenagers. The cruelty is delivered in a flat, deadpan register rather than as horror, but there is a kitchen-table scene in the second story that we watched through our fingers, and the squeamish should know it is coming.

**How does Kinds of Kindness compare to Wild Tales?**

*Kinds of Kindness* is the colder and slower of the two anthologies; [*Wild Tales*](https://film.one/film/wild-tales) is nastier, faster and funnier. Szifron's six revenge stories are unusually well matched, while Lanthimos's three make the same point each time and the third sags. Choose *Wild Tales* for an evening's entertainment and *Kinds of Kindness* for the first hour and Plemons.

**What should I watch after Kinds of Kindness?**

After *Kinds of Kindness*, try [*Wild Tales*](https://film.one/film/wild-tales) (2014, Fi1m 83): Six Argentine stories of people pushed too far; nastier, faster and funnier than this. Then [*Martha Marcy May Marlene*](https://film.one/film/martha-marcy-may-marlene) (2011, Fi1m 84): A woman leaves a cult and cannot quite leave it; the third story done properly; and [*The Exterminating Angel*](https://film.one/film/the-exterminating-angel) (1962, Fi1m 87): Buñuel’s dinner guests find they cannot leave the house, and nobody can say why.

### Reviews we read (36)

- **The AV Club**, Farah Cheded (A-): The critic calls it peak Lanthimos, an intensely icy immersion into psychological dystopias exploring choice, control, and submission through three linked stories that build cumulatively in darkness and absurdity, with strong performances and thematic cohesion. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/kinds-of-kindness-review-peak-yorgos-lanthimos-1851493786)
- **Empire**, Lou Thomas (80/100, inferred): The film is a stripped-down, humane and highly accomplished triptych that returns Lanthimos to the tone of his earlier work. It features strong performances, particularly from Plemons and Stone, and a wild, challenging world of brutal interpersonal dynamics. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kinds-of-kindness/)
- **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (5/4/5): The critic calls it a salacious triptych exploring psychological prisons and extreme power dynamics through blackly comic set-pieces. They praise the sophisticated register, strong ensemble cast and how all three parts work effectively as an anthology. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/kinds-of-kindness)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): The critic calls the macabre, mischievous triptych mind-bendingly brilliant, praising the ensemble’s range in bizarre scenarios and the fun of its mind games and cosmic jokes, while noting it rewards a second viewing. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kinds-of-kindness-review-emma-stone-yorgos-lanthimos/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): The critic welcomes the return to Lanthimos's signature spectacles of degradation and abasement in three interconnected stories of control and the search for the divine, praising the director's delight in absurdity and the matter-of-fact style that highlights the cruelty and randomness of life. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-kinds-of-kindness-is-pure-sicko-yorgos-lanthimos.html)
- **Evening Standard**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (75/100, inferred): Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons shine in these intelligent and darkly funny tales of control, identity and human behaviour. The triptych lacks some of the director's earlier oddness but features strong acting, inventive storytelling and beautiful cinematography. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/kinds-of-kindness-cannes-film-festival-review-emma-stone-jessie-plemons-b1158300.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (75/100, inferred): The critic describes an uneven but audacious triptych of stories that explores control, love, and faith through bizarre and disturbing events, praising the originality, vicious humor, and strong ensemble performances despite its length and strangeness. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/kinds-of-kindness-review-emma-stone-jesse-plemons-yorgos-lanthimos-1235896796/)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (60/100, inferred): The review portrays the film as a hostile anthology that feels like an allergic reaction to the director's recent success, focusing on psychosexual codependency and abasement across its three parts, with Jesse Plemons highlighted. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-1235005999/)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (3/5): The critic finds Lanthimos on sly misanthropic form with a sombre darker triptych that recalls his earlier weird wave films. They single out the deadpan absurdity and black comic tone as challenging and inspired while noting its suffocating grip may limit appeal beyond dedicated fans. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/kinds-of-kindness-review-2024)
- **Radio Times**, James Mottram (50/100, inferred): The critic views the anthology as an interesting conceit with pure Lanthimos flavour and splendid visuals but one that does not pay off handsomely. They single out its opaque and baffling nature as making it a trying endurance test likely to alienate casual viewers. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/kinds-of-kindess-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Ryan Coleman (2/4): The review criticizes the film as hamstrung by the director's pet interests, with crude sadism, glib humor, under-characterized figures, and a senseless fascination with violence that renders it over-determined and hard to watch, though it contains seeds of better ideas. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/kinds-of-kindness-review-emma-stone-yorgos-lanthimos/)
- **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (40/100, inferred): The review finds the film repetitive and self-admiring in its nastiness across three cruel fables about control and abjection. It singles out Plemons for the freshest performance while noting artistic fatigue overall. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/07/01/kinds-of-kindness-movie-review)
- **Total Film**, Anna Smith (40/100, inferred): Yorgos Lanthimos' hollow film feels like a test for audiences, lacking substance despite its structure. The Cannes screening highlights its experimental but ultimately empty qualities. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/comedy-movies/kinds-of-kindness-review/)
- **The i Paper**, Rick Burin (35/100, inferred): The portmanteau picture shows Lanthimos at both his best and worst, with riveting moments undercut by shallow shock tactics and self-satisfaction. Stone delivers strong work but the film ultimately feels cruel and lacking in genuine viewpoint. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/kinds-of-kindness-review-emma-stone-3130624)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Amy Nicholson (30/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as forced weirdness from a director desperate to seem cool again, with slight and samey parables about yearning for approval. It complains of Lanthimos wriggling loose from expectations in drab modern skits. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-06-21/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-jesse-plemons)
- **Film Comment**, Moze Halperin: The critic frames the film as Lanthimos adapting his bloodless style and fixations on authority and obedience to the form of Aesopian fables. The first chapter is singled out as the cleverest and most propulsive, while later segments feel repetitive and ultimately point to familiar observations about human compliance without deeper insight. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/human-resources-kinds-of-kindness-review/)
- **Financial Times**, Jonathan Romney (4): The critic describes the tricksy triptych as anything but tender, noting its outré and provocative qualities with grim humour but finding the deliberate affectlessness numbing over nearly three hours. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/17831bce-d4cf-4464-b4a2-d98f12ed217d)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic sees Lanthimos returning to Greek Weird Wave roots with a profoundly puzzling and dark-hearted triptych that is discordantly amusing and exhilarating. They single out the intense writers/actors collaboration and stripped-back visual pleasure while noting its elliptical savage heart. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/kinds-of-kindness-cannes-review/5193502.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic describes the film as a chilling portmanteau of three dark social experiments featuring brilliant shapeshifting performances from the ensemble cast. They single out the wicked yarns on themes of tyrannical love and human cruelty for praise while noting some insights feel banal. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/kinds-kindness-yorgos-lanthimos-spins-three-wicked-yarns-from-different-threads-human-cruelty)
- **The Guardian**: The critic finds the triptych admirable in its return to Lanthimos’s earlier surreal cruelty and control themes but notes that a unifying idea remains elusive and the film feels overlong, emotionally arid and a slog without the visual flair of his recent work. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/30/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-jesse-plemons-emma-stone-willem-dafoe)
- **The New York Times**, Alissa Wilkinson (Critic's Pick): The critic praises the film's defiantly off-putting stance and sick sense of humor in its triptych structure about domination. Plemons's performance stands out as particularly compelling amid the overlapping stories. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/20/movies/kinds-of-kindness-review.html)
- **The Times**: The review highlights sophisticated writing and perfect performances in the dark, ambitious absurdist triptych of tales featuring the returning cast. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/kinds-of-kindness-review-sophisticated-writing-and-perfect-performances-skk265kfc)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge: The review calls it a mordant return to form with a biting power parody in a surrealistic triptych that keeps viewers squirming. It praises the unpredictable ensemble and deadpan parodies of control and consent. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/kinds-of-kindness-review-emma-stone-yorgos-lanthimos-1236006458)
- **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (B+): The critic is impressed by the triptych exploring control and human condition, highlighting Jesse Plemons' performances across roles and the film's daring choices, calling it a compelling work that lingers in thought. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-twisted-triptych-on-control-the-human-condition-20240517/)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (8/10): The film marks a return to Lanthimos's darker, weirder roots after more accessible recent works, with strong ensemble performances especially from Jesse Plemons across the anthology segments. It dissects toxic relationships and the search for meaning through the director's signature dark humor without compromise. [Read](https://collider.com/kinds-of-kindness-review/)
- **/Film**, Witney Seibold (8/10): The critic sees it as the most Lanthimos film, a triple-hit of hierarchical anxiety with fascinating segments about control and madness, praising the cast but noting it's too long and doesn't cohere perfectly as a whole. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1597147/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone/)
- **Digital Spy**, Ian Sandwell (75/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's singular, darkly comic exploration of control, love and cruelty across three stories, calling it rewarding for those who stick with it. Jesse Plemons' performance is singled out for particular praise as a career highlight. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a61171557/kinds-of-kindness-review/)
- **Paste**, Jesse Hassenger (7.2/10): The anthology of dark fables deliberately avoids likability or inspiration, focusing instead on twisted dynamics of devotion and control with a Twilight Zone-like tone. It echoes earlier Lanthimos films but feels distinct, with the cast shifting roles effectively across the three stories. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/yorgos-lanthimos/kinds-of-kindness-movie-review)
- **Consequence** (B-): Lanthimos returns to a nastier, more transgressive mode reminiscent of his earlier work, exploring self-destructive devotion and power imbalances across three interconnected stories. The reteaming with co-writer Efthimis Filippou brings back an erotically macabre edge that feels less sunny than recent films. [Read](https://consequence.net/2024/06/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos/)
- **NME**, Nick Levine (70/100, inferred): The review describes the film as a restlessly provocative and freaky triptych that focuses on humanity's worst impulses through degradation and dark humour. It singles out the impressive ensemble, especially Plemons and Stone, as perfect co-conspirators in Lanthimos's chilly, singular vision. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-3769513)
- **Polygon**, Oli Welsh (70/100, inferred): The anthology feels like three distinct weird Lanthimos films in one, marking a hard turn back toward his earlier surrealist style after more mainstream successes. It plays with split identities and control through familiar actors in new configurations, emphasizing the director's bifurcated career paths. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/24181309/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone/)
- **The Ringer**, Manuela Lazic (50/100, inferred): The film signals Lanthimos's return to experimental roots with mixed results, presenting three stories that probe twisted forms of kindness and control through the same cast in shifting roles. While the surface shocks are effective, the work lacks deeper awe or substance beyond the actors' shape-shifting performances. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2024/05/22/movies/kinds-of-kindness-movie-review-cannes-2024-yorgos-lanthimos)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (2/5): The review finds the film self-indulgent and overly focused on the director's own amusement at depraved scenarios, with the first story emerging as the strongest. It praises the performances, especially Plemons and Dafoe, but concludes the overall exercise lacks broader appeal. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone/)
- **Deadline**, Stephanie Bunbury: The critic calls the film puzzling, brilliant and funny, yet not easy to like and the gloomiest Lanthimos work yet. She singles out the recurrent motifs of control, cruelty and erotomania across the three linked stories. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/05/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-cannes/)
- **Film Stories**, James Harvey: The critic finds it an uproariously entertaining triple-bill that returns Lanthimos to his roots with witty, crowd-pleasing stories disguised as experimental arthouse, praising the performances especially Jesse Plemons, though noting it may not satisfy as much on first watch as some previous works. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/kinds-of-kindness-review-style-style-style/)
- **The Wrap**, Steve Pond: The critic finds the triptych seriously disturbed but thoroughly entertaining, marking a return to the director’s darker, creepier mode. He singles out the deadpan surrealism, gore, nudity and stilted rituals that make up the sampler-pack style. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/kinds-of-kindness-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-willem-dafoe-cannes/)

## Details

- **Director:** Yorgos Lanthimos
- **Director:** Yorgos Lanthimos
- **Writer:** Efthimis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos
- **Cinematography:** Robbie Ryan
- **Editor:** Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- **Music:** Jerskin Fendrix
- **Production design:** Anthony Gasparro
- **Costume design:** Jennifer Johnson
- **Producer:** Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Kasia Malipan
- **Cast:** Emma Stone as Rita / Liz / Emily; Jesse Plemons as Robert / Daniel / Andrew; Willem Dafoe as Raymond / George / Omi; Margaret Qualley as Vivian / Martha / Ruth / Rebecca; Hong Chau as Sarah / Sharon / Aka; Mamoudou Athie as Will / Neil / Morgue Nurse; Joe Alwyn as Collectibles Appraiser / Passenger / Joseph; Hunter Schafer as Anna
- **Runtime:** 2h 44m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 5 July 2024
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama
- **Budget:** $15 million
- **Box office:** $16 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGOL2_mI9Hw

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Cannes Film Festival 2024: Best Actor (won)

## If you liked this

- *Dogtooth* (2009): Lanthimos and Filippou’s first family-as-prison fable, and it finishes in ninety-odd minutes.
- *Wild Tales* (2014), Fi1m 83: Six Argentine stories of people pushed too far; nastier, faster and funnier than this. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-tales.md)
- *Songs from the Second Floor* (2000): Roy Andersson’s deadpan Swedish tableaux of obedient people waiting for instructions that never come.
- *Martha Marcy May Marlene* (2011), Fi1m 84: A woman leaves a cult and cannot quite leave it; the third story done properly. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/martha-marcy-may-marlene.md)
- *The Exterminating Angel* (1962), Fi1m 87: Buñuel’s dinner guests find they cannot leave the house, and nobody can say why. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-exterminating-angel.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/kinds-of-kindness