Sumith Prasad
Yorgos Lanthimos’ absurdist anthology film ‘Kinds of Kindness’ ends with a highly ambiguous mid-credits scene featuring R.M.F., the mysterious character who appears in all three shorts in the movie. The person eats a sandwich outside Baby’s Snack Box, a real-life snack bar in New Orleans, Louisiana. He tries to put ketchup in the dish but spills it onto his clothes. The individual then makes a mess on his shirt as the film concludes. The particular scene conveys a lot about R.M.F. and his significance in this triptych fable that explores control and free will! SPOILERS AHEAD.
R.M.F. Becomes the Only Survivor After His Resurrection
The three shorts that form ‘Kinds of Kindness’ end with the respective protagonist getting trapped in a predicament. In ‘The Death of R.M.F.,’ Robert reconnects with his boss, Raymond, but at the cost of becoming a murderer, someone he never wanted to be. After insisting that he does not wish to kill another person, he is indirectly forced by the businessman to commit a murder. As the installment ends with the employee sharing an embrace with his superior and the latter’s wife, he is trapped within Raymond’s world, where he is nothing short of a machine that acts according to the master’s commands.
In ‘R.M.F. Is Flying,’ Liz and Daniel meet tragic ends. While the wife sacrifices herself to please her partner, the husband becomes a murderer who possibly hallucinates the arrival of his “real” better half. Even if the woman who shows up before Daniel is his actual partner, he will be responsible for the imposter’s death, stopping him from sharing his life with his long-awaited wife. Similarly, in ‘R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,’ Ruth’s accidental death shuts down the only path Emily can rely on to rejoin Omi and Aka’s sex cult. She is trapped in a life without guidance with nothing else to offer to her gurus.
While these protagonists suffer, dealing with a highly intricate trap, R.M.F. cherishes a free life. He survives the death caused by Robert with the help of Ruth, who brings him back to life. The mysterious person can freely enjoy a sandwich without any concerns bothering him. While Robert, Liz, Daniel, and Emily’s quests take them to dead ends, R.M.F. lets fate dictate his life, only to become the only survivor among the main characters. He does not choose to be dead or brought back to life but still emerges as the individual who has a life to live. What we see him do outside the snack bar is not just a mere act of eating; he is living his life on his own terms.
The Spilled Ketchup Opens a Window Into R.M.F.’s Current Life
The significant development that happens in the mid-credits scene of ‘Kinds of Kindness’ is R.M.F. spilling ketchup onto his shirt. There are two significant ways we can approach this development. First of all, the film’s closing shot highlights the simplicity of a life governed by fate. As explained above, the mysterious person is the only one who accepts the natural flow of life, while the protagonists in the three shorts try to change their lives considerably themselves. Their actions are governed by a particular desire to rewrite their present and future, only for them to deal with existential crises.
Meanwhile, R.M.F.’s most severe concern is the spilled ketchup, which is something he can solve by washing his shirt or buying a new one. The mysterious individual makes his life simpler by letting fate decide what’s ahead for him. He is not plagued by life-altering choices or the aftermath of his decisions. Furthermore, food, drinks, and other edible items are vital parts of the three shorts’ narratives. In the first installment, Raymond displays his control over Robert by deciding what he should eat and drink. When the employee asks for vodka, the boss serves him whisky to demonstrate this control.
In the second short, Daniel demands Liz’s body parts as the dishes he craves. The police officer wants to eat her thumb and liver, and he also licks blood off a person he shoots. Omi and Aka’s influence over Emily in ‘R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich’ can be seen while she drinks water that contains the sex cult leaders’ tears. Robert, Liz, and Emily are controlled by others through food and drinks. Meanwhile, R.M.F. is free to eat whatever he wants in any way he likes. He can eat a sandwich by spilling ketchup and making a mess without being bothered about his actions.
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