One would think after nabbing four Academy Awards, Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos would be basking in the critical acclaim and awards glory of his latest film, Poor Things. But this ever-restless director isn’t one to rest on his laurels. Lanthimos is already diving headfirst into his next project, the upcoming film Kinds of Kindness, which reunites him with the Emma Stone (their third collaboration after The Favourite and Poor Things) and the versatile Willem Dafoe.
The partnership between Stone and Lanthimos is a force to be reckoned with as Kinds of Kindness promises to be another fascinating exploration of the human condition through Lanthimos’ signature absurdist lens. So, what is the film about, when will it hit theatres, who stars in it, and what can we expect from the master of experimental cinema? Here’s everything we know about Lanthimos’ upcoming feature.
Kinds of Kindness Release Date
Luckily, fans won’t have to wait too long to see what Lanthimos and the crew have been up to. Kinds of Kindness is set to be released in select United States theatres on June 21, 2024 by Searchlight Pictures. It will also be released in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2024, with an Australian release date to follow. Mark your calendars for this one!
Kinds of Kindness Cast
Yorgos Lanthimos has assembled a star-studded cast for his upcoming film, featuring a mix of regular collaborators and several newcomers. Best Actress Oscar winner Stone leads the cast, while the rest of the cast includes Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, both of whom were in Poor Things, in addition to Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn (who previously worked with Stone and Lanthimos on the 2018 period film The Favourite), Jesse Plemons, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer. At the time of writing, the Kinds of Kindness confirmed cast includes:
- Emma Stone
- Jesse Plemons
- Willem Dafoe
- Margaret Qualley
- Hong Chau
- Joe Alwyn
- Mamoudou Athie
- Hunter Schafer
Kinds of Kindness Plot
Co-written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou (frequent collaborators on films like The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer and Dogtooth), Kinds of Kindness is a darkly comedic tale featuring three interconnected stories. The first follows a man with no control over his life, yearning to take charge, the second centres on a policeman unnerved by his wife’s mysterious return from a presumed seafaring death, and the last depicts a woman on a quest to find a prophesied spiritual leader.
As per the official synopsis, Kinds of Kindness “is 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 lost at sea has returned and seems like 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.” Yorgos Lanthimos also serves as a producer, along with Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, and Kasia Malipan.
Does Kinds of Kindness Have a Trailer?
Yes, we did get a brief teaser for Kinds of Kindness and while it offers no plot details whatsoever, the trailer is filled with Lanthimos’ signature eccentricity, stunning cinematography, a stellar cast, and brief glimpses that hint at a captivating story. We see Emma Stone in a reckless driving spree as her voiceover says, “This is it. The moment of truth.” The teaser then teases brief shots of a body being dragged followed by our first look at Jesse Plemons’ character, who gets a shocking slap from Margaret Qualley.
Set to the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” the teaser also offers glimpses of the cast in a whirlwind of activity. We see Plemons recklessly careening through city streets, Dafoe with an unsettling smile in black-and-white, and Hong Chau engaging in an unusual act of licking somebody’s bare back. Meanwhile, Hunter Schafer performs a ritual in an examination room, a person in a wheelchair falls over, and Mamoudou Athie stands by, his expression almost unreadable. The teaser ends with Stone’s voiceover, leaving us with a single, unsettling question: “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Kinds of Kindness hits theatres in the U.S. on June 21, 2024.
