The last few years have seen a lot of media attention focused on Joe Alwyn. If you’ve been living in a hermetically sealed bunker, that might be news to you (and if so, that must be lovely). However, outside of that specific and uninvited limelight, the dapper 33-year-old British actor has made a name for himself in movies directed by eccentric auteurs. There was Claire Denis’ sensual 2022 Cannes Grand Prix winner “Stars at Noon,” in which she played a British woman adrift in Nicaragua who had copious amounts of sex with Margaret Qualley’s character; Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II,” in which she played a grieving and queer-flirting film editor; and, most recently, “Kinds of Kindness,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, for which he had previously starred as a lustful baron in “The Favourite.”
This year, Alwyn is returning to Cannes in three roles for “Kinds of Kindness,” which he co-wrote with Lanthimos, the buddy and partner on “Alps” and “The Lobster,” Efthimis Flippou. This implies that we are firmly in the tradition of classic Lanthimos, shocking viewers with graphic depictions of mutilation, twisted sexuality, and other bodily horrors. The three mind-control stories in the movie are not as cute as Lanthimos’s megahits “Poor Things” and “The Favourite.” Not that those movies were particularly cute, but their period details and, in the case of “Poor Things,” their strong female leads, definitely gave the audience a warmer hug. In the 17th-century British drama “The Favourite,” Alwyn portrayed a largely bland character who weds Stone’s social climber.
In “Kinds of Kindness,” a rotating cast of actors, including Willem Dafoe, Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Alwyn, riff on the same character throughout a triptych of stories that, if they weren’t so obsessed with demeaning, false-bottom endings, would almost seem like they belong in “The Twilight Zone.” In the first two episodes, “The Death of R.M.F.” and “R.M.F.,” Alwyn plays minor roles. Is Flying,” in which he portrays a boisterous inebriated convertible passenger who Plemons’ mentally unstable police officer stops. In the film “R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,” Alwyn portrays the more sinister Joseph, Emma Stone’s character’s ex-husband who has been indoctrinated by a sex cult headed by Willem Dafoe. In the end, Alwyn’s character takes drastic steps to get her back, including raping her on a date and spiking a drink, which backfires on him.
Alwyn is open to anything, as he spoke in-person with IndieWire at a crowded Carlton Hotel junket during the Cannes Film Festival. Particularly when collaborating with directors such as Lanthimos and Claire Denis.
Alwyn stated, “There are moments when you feel stuck or that you are doing things incorrectly.” “Yorgos is a director who makes you feel like you’re going to go play, in particular. When I think back on acting, the reason I first like it was that it allowed me to play and muck around. However, sometimes that feeling fades or is difficult to cling to, and nerves, worry, or the industry as a whole dull that. However, dealing with Yorgos is akin to entering a sandpit. It’s only enjoyable. Additionally, Claire [Denis] exudes a sense of liberation and being off the grid and embarking on an adventure.
While “Poor Things” was in VFX post-production, Lanthimos shot “Kinds of Kindness” in New Orleans in the fall of 2022. Since there wasn’t much more the director could do except wait, why not try a smaller picture instead? Alwyn remarked, “It felt like a return to the earlier Yorgos, the world of ‘Dogtooth,’ the Alps, and even Sacred Deer.'” “I found the idea of having a group of actors switch roles every time to be just really playful.” I therefore enjoy the concept of this group of people donning various masks, even if it’s only for a brief scene in the first, second, and third. I enjoy how [Yorgos] appears to gather people; it’s like a small family.
Since Emma Stone, Lanthimos’ dependable partner, introduced the two and helped Alwyn land “The Favourite,” Alwyn finds that it is easier to go to the darker places Lanthimos asks his actors to go (in “Kinds of Kindness,” Alwyn and Stone play exes who share a child and a lot of bitterness).
Alwyn, who was given the part without having to audition as Lanthimos recognised him from “The Favourite,” remarked of reading the script, “I wasn’t surprised that you’re going to come across characters who either do horrible things or I’m put in horrible positions or slightly larger-than-life or whatever it might be.”
“I was just happy to be doing that kind of scene with Emily [Emma Stone’s real name] because I love her as a friend and I think she’s amazing at what she does, of course, and everyone has seen that,” the actor said of the scene as well as how she felt while reading it and shooting it. However, in this scenario, you just want to be in a safe space for those things, so it makes sense to be around people you trust and have previously worked with, and I really felt that.
Alwyn may not have much screen time in “Kinds of Kindness,” but his last scene as Joseph attempts to use deceit to win back his cult-affected ex is, by all accounts, his darkest role to date. The actor went on, “The atmosphere on set is pretty light, but there can be unusual, difficult, or unpleasant things to manage. Generally speaking, [Yorgos] attempts to add humour wherever possible, even in the most horrific situations he finds himself in. Of course, this is not the case in this particular instance.
Greek screenwriter Filippou stated in a different interview with Lanthimos and Alwyn that the decision to cast Alwyn in that specific role was not intended to surprise viewers or challenge preconceptions. Even so, you’ll be shocked by how dark Alwyn gets in this scene. We attempt to emulate reality in our work, however it’s not always evident. We attempt to investigate and depict actual people and emotions, and I believe that people are uncomfortable in life itself. It’s not like we write strange movies or cast Joe Alwyn in a rapist role. Both victims and perpetrators of rape exist, according to Filippou.
From his post-dramatic school breakthrough in Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” in 2016 to Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy” in 2022 and Hulu’s Sally Rooney series “Conversations with Friends,” Alwyn’s filmography reveals an actor more interested in character-driven, subversive work than IP or franchises. And it’s not entirely intentional.
“So far, I think I’ve just tried to find directors that I really admire, and a few of those have ended up being [the directors of] independent films, not big studio Marvel films or anything like that,” he remarked. “Anything may be wonderful, in my opinion. In terms of what I’m pursuing, there isn’t much rhyme or reason—it’s simply about the individuals that make it. All I’m doing is looking for intriguing folks to collaborate with. Additionally, collaborating with someone like Yorgos offers so many benefits, even in a supportive role such as “Kinds of Kindness.” Spending time with him and being a part of someone who is so very creative and unique in the films he does is enjoyable. They don’t have a uniform shape. I find that exciting.
Paul Mescal, a fellow actor from the UK, recently admitted that he finds the idea of fame irritating and claimed that if people began to stop him in the street (which they already do, but still), he would become “profoundly depressed.” Alwyn, who has been forced to deal with sudden celebrity and media attention, stated he makes an effort not to dwell too much on the negative effects of the spotlight. “What happens on the outside is something you can’t really control,” he remarked. “All I’ve attempted to do is concentrate on my life, friends, family, or whatever else I find important. I can see why that may be a very strong emotion for [Paul Mescal].
“Kinds of Kindness” made its Cannes Film Festival debut in 2024. On June 21st, Searchlight Pictures will release the movie in the US.
