Kinds of Kindness, Yorgos Lanthimos’ great return to the screens, not only shocked a large portion of spectators, but also his actors. Jesse Plemons recounted his gut reaction after reading the script.
The latest effort of Yorgos Lanthimos attracted the attention of Cannes Film Festival 2024 and, once in theaters, it sparked a divisive debate among the public too. The eccentric Greek director, fresh from the monumental success of Poor Creatures!, is back with a disturbing epic divided into three episodes. Kinds of Kindness declines the theme of dependence and of submission in its most complex and dark forms, using the over-the-top symbolism that has made Lanthimos one of the most interesting authors of the moment.
The ensemble cast includes Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe And Jesse Plemons. The latter, for his performance, won the award for best male performance on the Croisette. The actor, in order, lends his face to: a man linked in a sinister and unbridled way to his employer; a husband convinced that the woman he claims to be his wife is actually an impostor; the member of a sect dedicated to the cult of water in search of the messiah.
Plemons, known for his roles in the cult series breaking Bad and recently Killers of the Flower Moon Of Martin Scorsese, has a real talent for painting ‘uncomfortable’, self-destructive and even unpleasant characters. To the microphones of IndieWirehowever, the star confided that his choices regarding the parts to play are absolutely not systematic.
It’s just a survival technique. I’ve been doing this for so long that there’s almost no point in looking too far ahead. And so far it’s worked for me… I’m constantly looking to the next project and following my instincts about what’s interesting and exciting for me.
Of the work he did with Lanthimos, he added: “Mostly you play these games, you do these theatrical exercises that he has collected, developed, invented over the years. My conclusion that first or second day was: ‘The point is this all? Just to make me feel completely lost? Is that why we’re doing this? Because it works.’”
Even though he wasn’t clear on what the director’s goal was through those bizarre exercises, he decided to trust him, trusting that he would take him where he needed to go and that the final result would be effective. To be honest, the Texan had an inkling that he would be embarking on an adventure that was anything but smooth right from the start. when he finished reading the script.
What I think is so amazing about the work [di Lanthimos, ndr] is that it has the ability to evoke very intense feelings and emotions, which are difficult to even categorize and articulate in your head. That’s pretty much what I felt after reading the script, a sick feeling in my stomach. Not that I wasn’t incredibly excited, but there was something really insidious about that effect.
Indeed, in the fiction of Kinds of Kindness, Jesse Plemons, among other things, broke a toe, ate a human liver and entered a morgue. Actions that make your skin crawl just reading them. Therefore the actor’s reaction is not at all surprising. One thing is certain: once the disorientation and disgust were overcome, Plemons brought home a more than convincing performance. Paradoxically also balanced and certainly destined to climb the ranking of the best of his career.
