Review of 'Poor Things'

Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a Victorian “Doctor Frankenstein”, resurrects the body of a young pregnant woman who has committed suicide, putting the brain of the unborn baby into the body of the mother. As a infant in the body of an adult, Bella (Emma Stone) exhibits little inhibition and motor skills, causing Godwin to keep her at length from the world around them. Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) becomes Baxter's medical assistant, monitoring and mentoring Bella. Over time Max and Bella become engaged but craving autonomy Bella runs off with the sleezy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) and the two have an explicit affair. The two begin their time together in Lisbon then Max smuggles Bella onboard a cruise ship where he hopes she will be better able to control her somewhat free-willed partner. This fails to work with Duncan, increasingly jealous, beginning to gamble and drink. After Bella's mind is opened to philosophy and the desire to see the real world, she gives all of Max's money to the poor and they are kicked off the ship, eventually stranded in Paris…

“Poor Things” is quite an incredible looking film with it's highly imaginative, bizarre, sets and camera angles offering a never-ending treat to the eyes. It is something of a mixture of soft porn and fantasy with, for example, Goodwin's hybrid animal creations such as a pig-headed chicken or a duck-headed dog. In this and the outlandish sets and costumes gives the film is very disturbing feel even putting aside the bizarre storyline. The fish-eye lens view of the street puts one on edge and also induces a slight bit of dizziness. The soft porn aspect is also very much a core element of the film with full-frontal nudity (of both sexes) along with copious amounts of sex as Bella seeks to define herself and explore what it is to be “human”. There are also a good deal of incredibly dark elements here such as incredibly visceral violence and casual morbidity (lots of body parts…).

It has to be said that Emma Stone is truly amazing here as Bella beginning with an incredible portrayal of child-like innocence transformed gradually into a strong-willed and highly intelligent woman - Her performance makes this an utterly believable transformation. Mark Ruffalo takes on a role at polar opposite to his mild-mannered Bruce Banner in the Marvel Avengers films. Here he is a sexist, rude Victorian lawyer determined to bed Bella then keep her for his own. His descent into alcohol and poverty, we feel, is well deserved. Willem Dafoe is also amazing as the rather forth-right and calm Doctor Goodwin Baxter, with an amazing make-up job that transforms his face into a hodgepodge of flesh pieces sewn together much like what he does in his profession. He is certainly not a malevolent character and cares deeply for Bella, which he sees as a weakness he swears not to repeat when she runs away. Indeed, with the declining health of Baxter we see the return of Bella to him, who she always perceives as a caring, if slightly overprotective, father.

A disturbing yet fascinating film telling the fantastic story of a “woman” forced to become an adult due to circumstances beyond her control told by a master of the bizarre, Yorgos Lanthimos. It looks great but will no doubt disturb many viewers with aspects of physical horror and numerous sexual sequences.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2024-04-28

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos

Studio: Element Pictures

Year: 2023

Length: 141 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/

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