Emma Stone shows off her acting chops playing three different characters in a new trailer for Kinds Of Kindness, her latest movie with Yorgos Lanthimos.
The boundary-pushing Greek filmmaker previously directed Emma in acclaimed performances in The Favourite and Poor Things.
But their next release appears to be their most unflinching yet, leaving Cannes viewers astonished with its willingness to disturb.
A number of the critics were repulsed by the picture’s darker elements, which include cannibalism, rape and a character lopping off one of her own fingers.
Now an evocative sneak peek has dropped for Kinds Of Kindness, boasting a star-studded cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Joe Alwyn, Margaret Qualley and Willem Defoe – and hinting at the bleak underbelly of the film.
Emma Stone shows off her acting chops playing three different characters in a new trailer for Kinds Of Kindness, her latest movie with Yorgos Lanthimos
The boundary-pushing Greek filmmaker previously directed Emma in acclaimed performances in The Favourite and Poor Things; pictured in Kinds Of Kindness
The movie is an anthology piece with three different storylines, all of which are glancingly teased in the brief new trailer.
One is about a Robert (Jesse) who is desperately in love with his boss Raymond (Willem) – but finds himself faced with an impossible task in order to please him.
Rita (Emma) is a woman who also works for Raymond and who becomes caught up in the vicious dynamic between her boss and Robert.
Robert is seen pleading with Raymond, telling him: ‘I love you,’ only for Raymond to mercilessly rebuff him by saying: ‘This isn’t love.’
As his storyline progresses, Robert has a tense confrontation with Margaret Qualley’s character Vivian, who slaps him hard across the face.
Daniel increasingly believes that the woman who has come back to him is an impostor – and his attempts to figure out who she is become increasingly macabre.
‘She asked me to f*** her, in my uniform, and to hit me – hard!’ Daniel says in disbelief to Sharon (Hong Chau). ‘We didn’t, obviously, f***.’
But their next release appears to be their most unflinching yet, leaving Cannes viewers astonished with its willingness to disturb; Hong Chau pictured
A number of the critics were repulsed by the picture’s darker elements, which include cannibalism, rape and a character lopping off one of her own fingers
Now an evocative sneak peek has dropped for Kinds Of Kindness, boasting a star-studded cast that includes Jesse Plemons , Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley (pictured)
The movie is an anthology piece with three different storylines, all of which are glancingly teased in the brief new trailer; Emma pictured with Jesse Plemons
One is about a Robert (Jesse) who is desperately in love with his boss Raymond (Willem) – but finds himself faced with an impossible task in order to please him
Robert is seen pleading with Raymond, telling him: ‘I love you,’ only for Raymond to mercilessly rebuff him by saying: ‘This isn’t love’
Rita (Emma) is a woman who also works for Raymond and who becomes caught up in the vicious dynamic between her boss and Robert
As his storyline progresses, Robert has a tense confrontation with Margaret Qualley’s character Vivian, who slaps him hard across the face
In a second plotline, Daniel (Jesse) is a police officer whose wife Liz (Emma) vanishes at sea – only to return mysteriously changed
‘She asked me to f*** her, in my uniform, and to hit me – hard!’ Daniel says in disbelief to Sharon (Hong Chau): ‘We didn’t, obviously, f***’
In the third segment, Emily (Emma) has abandoned her family to join a cult and finds herself hellbent on a mission to raise someone from the dead.
Her off-the-wall behavior makes itself evident as she dances loopily by herself in a parking lot, with someone slumped in a wheelchair nearby.
But Emily’s steely insanity is most obvious when she stands in a hospital room face to face with Anna (Hunter Schafer), whom she hopes can help her.
Emily and her partner Andrew (Jesse) stand at one side of a gurney, with Anna on the other, apparently regarding her task with great foreboding.
‘This is it. Do you think you can do it?’ says Emma with ice in her voice, prompting Anna to nod, even as her hands can be seen fidgeting.
There are brief snatches of unsettling footage that – although it is unclear which specific storyline they come from – offer glimpses at the film’s dark side.
What appears to be a corpse in pajamas can at one point be spotted being dragged along a hallway and then off into an adjoining room.
In the third segment, Emily (Emma) has abandoned her family to join a cult and finds herself hellbent on a mission to raise someone from the dead
Her off-the-wall behavior makes itself evident as she dances loopily by herself in a parking lot, with someone slumped in a wheelchair nearby
But Emily’s steely insanity is most obvious when she stands in a hospital room face to face with Anna (Hunter Schafer), whom she hopes can help her
Emily and her partner Andrew (Jesse) stand at one side of a gurney, with Anna on the other, apparently regarding her task with great foreboding
‘Do you think you can do it?’ says Emma with ice in her voice, prompting Anna to nod, even as her hands can be seen fidgeting
There are brief snatches of unsettling footage that – although it is unclear which specific storyline they come from – offer glimpses at the film’s dark side
One of Joe Alwyn’s characters – he appears in all three segments – can also be seen screaming in pain because of an unknown injury
Co-written by Yorgos and his frequent collaborator Efthymis Filippou, the movie will bow in the US on June 21 and in the UK on June 28
Kinds Of Kindness premiered at Cannes this month and was met with a mostly warm critical reception to the tune of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes
However the film, as is typical of Yorgos’ work, attracted its fair share of criticism as well, in part because of its beady-eyed view of the world
Co-written by Yorgos and his frequent collaborator Efthymis Filippou, the movie will bow in the US on June 21 and in the UK on June 28.
Kinds Of Kindness premiered at Cannes this month and was met with a mostly warm critical reception to the tune of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
However the film, as is typical of Yorgos’ work, attracted its fair share of criticism as well, in part because of its beady-eyed view of the world.
‘Lanthimos shows that at no time is he a filmmaker who understands kindness, but only vileness,’ complained a critic in Mexico’s Cine Premiere.
Yorgos was accused of an ‘odd compulsion to simultaneously shock and underwhelm the audience’ in Entertainment Weekly.
Kinds Of Kindness was slated as ‘hard to like’ and ‘unrelentingly dark’ in Metro, while Time despaired of its ‘performative, abrasively quirky transgression.’
