8 Best Yorgos Lanthimos Movies, Ranked

Fans of Greek surrealist filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos know that there's a lot to love about his dark, bizarre films, but it can be very difficult to recommend them to people. Social rules are often thrown out the window and what we think of as standard human behavior is often turned on its head, which make his films uncomfortable even before digging into some of the tougher subject matter. For those who are willing to view the world through Lanthimos' slightly tilted (and fish-eyed) lens, however, these films are beautiful explorations of the human condition. But which is the best? If someone were going to dip their toe into his work, or only had the time and energy to watch one film, which film should they pick? 

Fear not, intrepid film fan, because I'm here with the definitive /Film ranking of all of Lanthimos' feature films — from his earliest Greek-language efforts to his latest, the Academy Award-winning "Poor Things." His next film, "Kinds of Kindness," is set to hit theaters on June 21, 2024, and based on the teaser trailer, it looks like it will be as wild as all of the films below, so get to watching! 

Lanthimos' directorial debut was co-directed with star and writer Lakis Lazopoulos. It follows insurance agent Constantine (Lazopoulos) after he comes home to find his best friend and his wife in bed together. They don't see him, and he manages to sneak away and pretends to still be out of town when he's really hanging around Athens, spying on his wife and friend and trying to piece together his shattered reality. 

Unfortunately, "My Best Friend" is pretty close to impossible to find online or even on physical media in the United States. Reviews from the time aren't particularly complimentary, though Variety said that the movie's "frenetic energy and push beyond the boundaries of realism recalls a younger Terry Gilliam." Those elements are likely Lanthimos' contributions because they're present in his other work (and Gilliamesque is never an insult!), but otherwise the movie doesn't seem to have much reason to seek it out unless you're a total Lanthimos completionist with access to rare European film prints.

No one would ever accuse Lanthimos of making movies that are too fluffy or full of levity, but his second film and first solo feature, "Kinetta," is probably his most bleak. That's pretty impressive given the subject matter of his later films (especially "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"), but "Kinetta" spends most of its runtime in relative silence, with its characters in various states of depression. The film takes place at the beachside resort of Kinetta in the off-season, following three strangers who meet up to re-enact murders. It sounds sort of like Cronenberg's "Crash" but is unfortunately quite a bit less subversive. 

"Kinetta" is really only for fans of Lanthimos who want to see the earliest elements of his style coming into fruition. Awkward, stilted interactions between people, unusual camera angles, and a muted color palette all make their appearance, though the director would refine these all much better in later work. 

Lanthimos really enjoys telling stories about human nature while showing us characters that seem slightly inhuman. There is an intentional artificiality to all of his work that makes the audience constantly aware that they're engaging with a facsimile of the human experience. In his fourth film, "Alps," Lanthimos engages with this artifice the most directly, telling a story about a group of therapists who call themselves "The Alps," who pretend to be deceased individuals in order to help their families grieve. This seems like a completely altruistic thing to do, but each of the members of The Alps are a little unstable, looking for something in their unusual career choice besides a paycheck. That can blur the lines between their reality and the people they portray, and leads to all kinds of drama between the therapists. 

Lanthimos co-wrote "Alps" with frequent collaborator Efthymis Filippou, and while it has quite a bit of the duo's pitch black humor, the meandering story and often frustrating characters can make it a challenging watch. It's not as bleak as "Kinetta" or as uneven as "My Best Friend," but "Alps" is still Lanthimos finding his footing as a storyteller and an artist. 

"The Lobster" is Lanthimos's first English-language film, starring Colin Farrell as David, a man looking for love in a bizarre sci-fi reality just adjacent to our own where single people must find a mate or they're turned into the animal of their choosing. David's animal of choice is the lobster because they can live forever, giving him the greatest chance of finding some kind of love. He enters the hotel where singles are given 45 days to find a partner. He's accompanied by his brother, who is now a dog because he failed in finding love himself, and things proceed to get way, way weirder from there. 

Our review of "The Lobster" praised it for its "pitch-black sense of humor, its uncomfortably keen insights into real-life relationships," and "its aching romanticism," elements that exist within all of the director's work but first felt fully realized in "The Lobster." Farrell is pitch-perfect as the awkward David, trapped with the neurotic singles who believe that they must match their partner in some little physical way, like a limp or chronic nosebleeds. He's matched beautifully by Rachel Weisz once she shows up in his life as a single woman who escaped the hotel to live outside the law. Their chemistry is phenomenal and both are as fiercely funny as they are sexy (and weird!), but it's not quite enough to make "The Lobster" palatable for most audiences. It's just a little too absurd and much too mean, but it's a fantastic film for those with a taste for slightly stranger fare.

Lanthimos reteamed with Weisz in 2018, though this time he was working from a screenplay he didn't write or co-write for the first time. "The Favourite" was written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara and tells the semi-historically accurate story of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and a pair of women who become rivals for her attention and affection. Weisz plays Lady Sarah, a Duchess who serves as Anne's advisor and sexual partner. She's soon duking it out with her cousin Abigail (Emma Stone), who has arrived at the castle and has worked her way into the Queen's heart (and pants). 

"The Favourite" is a brilliant black comedy that's absolutely gorgeous, with stunning costumes, locations, and cinematography that all make the film feel like one seriously effed-up fairy tale. (Here's our 10/10 review.) Despite some absurd behavior and lots of fish-eye lenses, the film is surprisingly grounded, with performances that make the whole thing feel almost profound. Weisz, Colman, and Stone are a trio to tangle with, each bringing a unique fierceness to roles that are truly unforgiving. (For her part, Colman won an Oscar for Best Actress!) It's easy as the viewer to get completely swept up in the power games being fought and the petty social manipulations that by the time the final gut-punch lands, it truly knocks the wind out of you. 

"The Favourite" is filthy, hilarious, and sometimes completely heartbreaking. It's full of plenty of Lanthimos greatness without being quite as alienating as some of his other work, and the performances alone make it a must-see. 

"Dogtooth" was Lanthimos's third film and the first to really make an impression, impressing audiences with its unique tone and distinct sense of humor. Co-written by Lanthimos and Filippou, "Dogtooth" tells the tale of a family that lives in a compound separated from the rest of the world by a wall and gate, with only the father allowed to come and go in order to work and purchase things for the family. The children have all grown into adults but are stunted because of their bizarre upbringing, with their parents giving them different definitions for words about the outside world that they might encounter in the few books they are allowed to read. For example, a "zombie" is a yellow flower, and a "highway" is a strong gust of wind. 

When the only boy starts to come of age, his parents decide that he will need sexual release and his father hires a co-worker to provide that for him, which leads to her introducing all three of the adult children to forbidden knowledge. In the end, the eldest daughter decides that she wants to know more about the world at any cost, leading to yet another (arguably) heartbreaking Lanthimos finale. 

Like all of his other films, "Dogtooth" is darkly funny and thoroughly bizarre, best encapsulated in a killer dance sequence where the unnamed sisters (Angeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni) try to put on a show for their parents. It's absurd and surreal but also thought-provoking, showing the first real hint of what Lanthimos is capable of as a director. It's an audacious swing that has to be seen to be understood and appreciated, although it might take a few watches. 

None of Lanthimos's films ride the edge of comedy and tragedy quite as finely as "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," which he co-wrote with Fillipou. Taking its name from the classic Greek tragedy "Iphigenia in Aulis," "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" follows heart surgeon Stephen (Colin Farrell), who meets a young man named Martin (Barry Keoghan) who starts to worm his way into Stephen's family. Soon Stephen's son loses the ability to walk and Martin informs him that he must choose to kill either his son or his daughter, otherwise Martin will cause them both to die. You see, Martin's father died under Stephen's knife, and Martin thinks that he's owed a sacrifice in return. It's harrowing stuff, but it's so fully absurd that it's also easy to have lots of uncomfortable laughs.

Much like "Dogtooth," this is a film that can require more than one watch to fully appreciate. It's much funnier on the second go around, once the shock and horror has dissipated a bit, but it's a truly great film that's unlike anything else out there. Not only is it well-shot, smart, and well-acted, but it has Barry Keoghan playing a weird little freak, which is quite arguably what he was put on this planet to do. Who wants to miss that?

"Poor Things" may be Lanthimos' most recent film, but it's also his best. The darkly comedic sci-fi tale is based on the novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, with a screenplay by McNamara, and it takes all of the directors sensibilities and channels them into something a little more approachable. "Poor Things" is a "Frankenstein" story by way of Penthouse Forum, but with a decidedly feminist twist. Emma Stone stars as Bella, a young woman who has the mind of a child but yearns for big things. After being kept indoors for her early life, she is finally allowed to go and explore her Victorian-era world, finding joy and heartbreak in equal measure. 

Like "Dogtooth," "Poor Things" deals heavily with infantilization, isolation as a form of abuse, and budding sexuality, deriving a great deal of humor from the silliness of sex itself. It's wildly weird and hilariously horny, with Baxter serving as a phenomenal allegory for not just women, but especially neurodivergent women, who tend to be infantilized even more than their neurotypical counterparts because their behavior is seen as inappropriate in polite society. 

"Poor Things" takes everything that Lanthimos does well and lets him do it in extremes, going as big and bold as he feels like. Not only that, but the cast is incredible. Willem Dafoe plays a surgically malformed, tortured scientist that serves as Bella's father, Ramy Youssef plays his assistant and Bella's lovelorn betrothed, and Mark Ruffalo plays a cad who spirits Bella away in the name of lust. The film is expertly made on every level, from the beautiful sets and creative cinematography to the pitch-perfect performances and expert editing. "Poor Things" is phenomenal, and it looks like Lanthimos is only going to keep getting better.