Emma Stone And Yorgos Lanthimos Reunite For Kinds Of Kindness
Jun 10, 2024
KINDS OF KINDNESS opens June 21st
Hollywood has seen many actors and directors become especially iconic for frequently teaming up to work together on projects. One of the latest and most esteemed examples of this bunch is the pairing of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos. In 2024, the versatile two-time Academy AwardⓇ winner and the wildly ambitious Greek filmmaker are releasing their fourth collaboration with KINDS OF KINDNESS.
Stone first appeared in a Lanthimos film in the blistering 2018 historical satire, THE FAVOURITE, and reunited with him four years later for an experimental 30-minute silent feature called BLEAT, which they followed up with the dazzling adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel, POOR THINGS, which is what earned Stone her second OscarⓇ. The duo is presenting a different, potentially even stranger beast with their Cannes Film Festival Palme d‘Or nominee, which is coming to AMC Theatres on June 21st.
Emma Stone’s role in KINDS OF KINDNESS could end up being one of the most unique she has played in a Yorgos Lanthimos project – let alone in any project in her esteemed, eclectic career – so far. Reason being: she is not playing just one character, but a trio of roles that each exist in a different story in this three-segment anthology film, also co-written by Lanthimos and another frequent collaborator of his, Efthymis Filippou.
As described in the official logline for KINDS OF KINDNESS, the film’s first chapter follows a man hoping to take control of his life. The second is about a cop who suspects that his wife, who was previously reported missing at sea, might have been replaced by an imposter. The final segment follows a woman searching for a person she believes is destined to be a powerful spiritual leader.
Like Stone, most of the actor’s co-stars in KINDS OF KINDNESS also portray a different person in each chapter. The ensemble also includes fellow veterans of Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmography, such as Stone’s POOR THINGS co-stars, Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe – who played the mad scientist who raises Bella Baxter – and two-time Emmy Award nominee Margaret Qualley – who played another of Dr. Baxter’s experiments named Felicity. Joe Alwyn – who portrayed Stone’s onscreen love interest, Samuel Masham, in THE FAVOURITE – also stars.
Among the newcomers to Lanthimos’ “troupe” is Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons. Also working with Lanthimos for the first time in KINDS OF KINDNESS is Hong Chau, known for THE MENU and her Oscar-nominated role in THE WHALE fame, alongside Emmy nominee and ELEMENTAL voice actor, Mamoudou Athie. Hunter Schafer – an actor and model who made her breakthrough on HBO’s “Euphoria” – is one of the few KINDS OF KINDNESS main cast members who only appears in one of the three segments.
It was only last year when we saw Emma Stone absolutely disappear into the role of Bella Baxter – a woman of unusual origin, to say the least, who goes on a wondrous journey discovering the outside world and herself in POOR THINGS. The mere fact that she is directly following up the success of that wondrous fantasy comedy with yet another Yorgos Lanthimos special only provides further evidence to the strong dynamic she shares with the filmmaker.
Following KINDS OF KINDNESS, Stone’s next major feature is going to be another darkly comic effort by an esteemed indie auteur – HEREDITARY and MIDSOMMAR creator Ari Aster’s upcoming Western, EDDINGTON, which also stars Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal. However, Variety reported in May that Stone is set to work with Lanthimos on his next project, BUGONIA, which is a remake of a South Korean comedy from 2003 called SAVE THE GREEN PLANET!, in which a man attempts to protect the Earth from a suspected alien invasion.
Typically, the best way to gain an understanding of what a movie is about is by watching the trailer, but that is not quite the case for KINDS OF KINDNESS. Instead of offering distinct details about each of the segments featured in the three-part anthology, the teaser compiles various clips from the stories without context, much like a collage. Watch it below:
One could barely tell that KINDS OF KINDNESS is an anthology from the whirlwind of compelling shots and perplexing dialogue featured throughout the clip above, but it does offer an intriguing glimpse at what to expect. Set to Eurythmics’ 1983 hit single, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", the trailer sees Emma Stone dancing in a parking lot, Jesse Plemons sharing an uncomfortably revealing detail with Hong Chau, grayscale footage of Margaret Qualley sobbing, and a dog driving a car filled with more canines. Fans of Lanthimos should likely know that absurd, surrealist imagery is exactly what the filmmaker does best.
KINDS OF KINDNESS opens June 21st
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