The power of three doesn’t carry over to the third collaboration between Stone and the Greek director.
Lanthimos wraps things up with R.M.F.
Many will regard this as a return to form for Lanthimos.
But without the alchemy of a McNamara script, the chemistry is off.
Theres plenty to dissect.
Ultimately, though, its provocations feel mean-spirited rather than ever truly outrageous or revelatory.
While the themes and the shadowy R.M.F.
DP Robbie Ryan pivots from flights of fancy to suburbia at its most dreary.
Yet none of it goes far enough.
The film truly belongs to Plemons for its first two-thirds.
In contrast, Stones characters in the first two vignettes are a step backward for her go-for-broke comedic talents.
As Rita, shes little more than eye candy, a place for Plemons Robert to channel his loneliness.
Chau should also receive credit for doing much with very little.
In the second vignette, shes a wife mourning the pending death of one of Lizs work colleagues.
In all the waysPoor Thingswas excessive,Kinds of Kindnessis ascetic, but not in an affecting way.
IsKinds of Kindnessan allegory?
Or perhaps an unnerving cautionary tale?
Or an irreverent mockery of the subjects that cause humans the most angst sex, death, and power?
It is somehow all three and none of the above.
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Many of the films more jarring moments feel as dispassionate as the films dialogue and shooting style.
They exist merely to shock or disgust, not for any greater narrative or creative purpose.
Lanthimos more recent entries have possessed a lust for life that is sorely lacking here.
