Back in 2009, two Greek writers caused quite a stir with their disturbing feature debut, Dogtooth, which focused on three teenagers isolated by their controlling father, pushing against the limits of his control. Since then, Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou have collaborated on a further three films: Alps, The Lobster, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer – each a devilishly dark treatise on the human condition. Their latest, Kinds of Kindness, sees them change structure a little, creating a triptych of loosely connected stories, each starring the same small cast of actors in different roles. As strange, brutal and abrupt as their previous collaborations, its meaning is slippery and shifting – and predictably, Lanthimos and Filippou themselves aren’t providing any easy answers.
LWLies: The actors in Kinds of Kindness give you their all, and it seems like a very important step to making sure the film achieves its full effect. How do you cast actors for the right roles?
YL: This process is so important for the atmosphere and working with
