Yorgos Lanthimos has again delivered a strong film in the form of the Cannes-premiered “Kinds of Kindness.” You’ll be able to catch this twisted triptych anthology in June.
Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schaefer and Joe Alwyn, who star in “Kinds of Kindness” were recently asked what Lanthimos’ best film is. It’s not a tough question to answer, it’s obvious, to me at least, and all three actors gave the correct answer: 2010’s “Dogtooth.”
The film, which tackled a locked-up family living by their own set of language, math and rules, announced the arrival of a new cinematic talent, albeit one that would no doubt be divisively met by critics and audiences alike. Lanthimos presented himself as a sort of heir to Luis Bunuel's masterful brand of avant-garde surrealism. The film’s tackling of parents who weaponize language, reinterpreting it for their own needs, also makes it incredibly relevant to today’s world.
To say that Lanthimos was inspired by the iconoclasm of Bunuel's work would be an understatement. You can see it all over his work. However, the moralist approach that Bunuel had in his pictures isn’t as present in Lanthimos' cinema. Instead, a Kubrickian detachment, a total dis-empathy towards character, if you will, is what the Greek auteur aims for (with the exception of “Poor Things”).
This mixture of Bunuel and Kubrick worked in "Dogtooth" and half-succeeded in "The Lobster," the latter of which was a film that lost the scathing satire of its first hour for a more sentimentally driven approach in the later scenes.
It made us realize that, for all his punishingly provoking theatrics, even an iconoclast like Lanthimos could be a softie. Lanthimos is much more successful, artistically speaking, when he delves into dour, and irrepressibly bleak statements. That is why “Kinds of Kindness” can be seen as a return to his former self.
Lanthimos tried to shock Cannes with "The Killing of A Sacred Deer" a film that so desperately tried to be like Kubrick's "The Shining," but felt too self-important and, for all its attempts at operatic tragedy, inconsequential. The artistry was there, but I expected more from him.
If there’s a film of his that can contend with “Dogtooth” as his best, then it’s certainly "The Favourite" the auteur's sixth feature-length film and his first foray into period-drama. This was also the first time Lanthimos completely ditched Bunuel and went into full-on Kubrick mode. There was a comic perversity that recalled "Barry Lyndon," but not just in the dramatics, it was the style as well; the wide lensed shots, the natural lighting and the obsessively delivered period details.
Now, it’s your turn. What’s Yorgos’ best film?