This latest effort from the quirky imagination of Yorgos Lanthimos employs the services of Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in varying roles across three short stories that question just about every aspect of human behaviour and attitudes. The first (my favourite) sees Plemons as "Robert". He is an outwardly professional man who lives with is wife "Sarah" (Hong Chau) and works for "Raymond" (Dafoe). He has just recovered from a very slight car accident - and on meeting with his boss we discover a little more of just what that was about and of the somewhat curious nature, and dependencies, of their relationship. The second didn't engage with me so well as cop Plemons is "Daniel" struggling to deal with the loss of his wife "Liz" at sea. When she turns up somewhat unexpectedly, she appears completely different somehow and some fairly ghastly sacrifices are soon necessary before anyone can see any light at the end of this emotional maelstrom of a tunnel. Finally, the two share the leads more looking for the ideal candidate for a cult run by "Omi" (Dafoe). Candidate for what? Well so long as she is the right weight and her breasts are equidistant from each other and her navel, then it'd doesn't seem to matter... Thing is, she has an estranged husband (Joe Alwyn) and a daughter who are keen to have her back - and he is prepared to use some fairly ghastly methods to see she is "contaminated". The scenarios are quite hard to describe. They are surreal in places, brutal in others - but I found rarely entertaining. We are presented with the façades of characterisations but it's the questions their escapades pose to us that is more interesting. What might we do to satiate our cravings for love, affection and a sense of feeling needed? How easily led we can be. The things a person will do for a tennis racket smashed by John McEnroe in 1984! It's not that it blurs lines of sexuality. There aren't any. It's sexually fluid and frequently presents us with an environment where people behave according to instinct and not societal morals. Dafoe takes the acting plaudits for me, his ownership of his roles is unnervingly creepy at times. Stone, though, seems to be resurrecting her "Pretty Little Things" (2023) style of characteristic (lots of racing around taking short steps) and Plemons is adequate enough, but somewhat just a little too anodyne with roles that ought to have taken us more by the scruff of the neck. It also didn't really resonate with me as a comedy either. I could see where the humourous elements were supposed to be but I prefer my humour more subtle - these punches just didn't land well enough. It's a long old watch, and though at times I did enjoy it, I doubt I'd bother again.

Quite the thing! I really enjoyed <em>'Kinds of Kindness'</em>. I'm also someone who loved <em>'Poor Things'</em> from these folk, so I guess me also liking this isn't any sort of surprise. It is a truly bizarre movie and I can see many disliking it, a thought supported by the fact that in a cinema with around 10 others alongside me, 3 left before the conclusion; 1 left at the end of chapter one, then a group of 2 left at the end of chapter two. I'm personally absolutely cool with absurdity if the filmmakers truly commit to it, otherwise what's the point? Yorgos Lanthimos & Co. evidently did just that and I was thoroughly entertained across the entire run time, which is impressive given it lasts for almost three hours; it flew by for me. I'm already a big fan of those onscreen so didn't need much convincing to see them act again, and I'm glad I did because all those acting here are great. Jesse Plemons is the standout in my eyes, what a terrific showing from that man - such a top actor! Emma Stone is, obviously, excellent as well, as is the awesome Willem Dafoe. Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau and Mamoudou Athie merit praise too. Gotta get <em>'The Favourite'</em> watched at some point, all the while getting set for <em>'Bugonia'</em> - Stone x Lanthimos is where it's at!