If you, like me, find Yorgos Lanthimos’ trademark weirdness easier to take when it’s swathed in wildly creative period-movie trappings (i.e., “The Favourite,” “Poor Things”), his latest, “Kinds of Kindness,” may challenge you. And clearly, it’s meant to: It’s a triptych film, made up of three loosely connected contemporary short stories, performed by the same troupe of actors and playing with some similar themes of power and control within relationships. It is at times darkly funny, violent, sadistic, playful, explicit and artful; it is also at times mystifying, pretentious and seemingly endless. In other words, it’s a lot. You have been warned — but if you know Lanthimos’ movies already, you probably don’t need the warning.

In “The Death of RMF,” the first of the trio, Jesse Plemons plays a man whose every action is dictated by his mysterious boss (Willem Dafoe), including his interactions with his wife (Hong Chau). “RMF Is Flying” finds Plemons as a cop whose wife (Emma Stone) has returned after being lost at sea, but he’s convinced she’s not his wife and presents horrific tasks to her to prove herself. The final act, “RMF Eats a Sandwich,” has Stone and Plemons as members of a cult obsessed with “contamination” and with finding a woman capable of bringing back the dead.

All of this is about as straightforward as it sounds (which is to say, it’s not), but it’s certainly pleasurable to see the actors in their varied roles, disappearing into the characters and yet bringing their unique presence. Stone, in particular, does three impeccable variants on a woman with all nerves exposed; the air practically vibrates around her. Lanthimos connects the stories further with Jerskin Fendrix’s unique score, which varies from “Eyes Wide Shut”-ish solo piano keys (struck so hard you can practically hear the felt on the hammer) to what sounds like excerpts from the world’s scariest opera. And while the film isn’t as visually inventive as “Poor Things,” Robbie Ryan’s cinematography nonetheless finds uncanny details: the shockingly bright shade of an orange being juiced; a kiss close-up so tight you can compare pore sizes; a grilled burger, bleeding as if desperately wounded.

Whether all this adds up to a satisfactory movie experience remains an open question. I can’t say that I enjoyed “Kinds of Kindness,” exactly, but I’m still thinking about it, days after seeing it. “There, dogs were in charge,” says Stone’s character in “RMF Is Flying,” of her time lost, as if it’s just a passing detail. There seem to be entire worlds behind every sentence in this film, floating somewhere just past our line of vision, calling to us as they slip away.

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'KINDS OF KINDNESS'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for strong/disturbing violent content, strong sexual content, full nudity and language)

Running time: 2:44

How to watch: Now in theaters

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