It is one thing to liken the story of this movie to a loose version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but Poor Things goes way beyond that. The film elevates the well-worn concepts we all know into a quirky, female-driven tale of liberation and empowerment. At first, I had no idea where the movie was going, thinking it would be much more psychological in its darker themes. But Poor Things goes well beyond that, with the film artistically painting a picture of the struggles ‘woke’ women of the time had to go through (and still have to go through) as they search for their own identity, much like Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter.
Based on the 1992 book of the same name by Alasdair Gray, it focused on a young Victorian woman named Bella who was resurrected by a scientist/surgeon named Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Defoe) following her suicide. It is the story of a girl who, after having the agency to leave the doctor’s home, ends up running off with a debaucherous lawyer named Duncan Wedderbaum, only to discover herself in the process. The story is told in a travel log style, where Bella goes with Duncan. As each stop ensued, Bella learned various ways to liberate herself while also developing a broader vocabulary than her more childish self.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos reunited with Stone from their last stint in The Favourite, only this time with Stone in the driver’s seat. Stone’s performance is sharp, witty, and intellectually dry and subtle. The journey she took with Bella was a spectacle—as she essentially was able to show the various maturity levels of a female human. Though the depiction was unorthodox, Stone’s acting managed to audibly captivate both me and the audience at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival this year.
The laughs and gasps of the audience towards some of the decisions Bella helped take in the beauty and grotesqueness of Poor Things in a way only a theatre full of people can. I found it profound that the costume designer Holly Waddington mentioned how the female genitalia inspired the clothing for Bella. She noted how each wardrobe evolution was like a new stage in Bella’s life from a mental maturity standpoint, which I thought was brilliant.
She started out with a lot of white ruffles, almost like a giant diaper for an adult-sized baby. But as Bella travelled and learned more about life and the world, she became better dressed through her experiences. By the end, she had a more academic look that suggested she was much more educated and experienced, really emphasizing her growth. Kudos to the makeup department for making Stone look so different from her natural look in many other movies!
“Poor Things was a thought-provoking, cerebral trip…”
Defoe’s acting was perfect for Dr. Godwin, even if he was mainly in the film’s first act. I thought his relationship with Bella was weird at first, but he still managed to reach a level of endearment throughout the course of the movie. On the other hand, Mark Ruffalo displayed his charms and comedic chops in his aloof performance. No, this was not similar to his Bruce Banner/Hulk in Marvel Studios’ Avengers films. His character Duncan served as one of the antagonists to Stone’s character in a pitiful way. While their sex adventures could only last so long, Duncan served as a great foil to Bella’s progression from young adult to full-grown womanhood.
There were a lot of great shots in this film, each painting a unique look at the world Bella is discovering for the first time. I could tell Lanthimos really enjoyed using the fisheye lens view in The Favourite, and it was only amplified in this film as well. It helped drive the weirdness of the beginning of the film when Bella was more childlike. The inertia of the camera added to the depths of her strange movements of learning to walk correctly.
One of my favourite shots of the film was when Bella and Duncan were on the steampunk cruise ship. The sky, being various shades of purple and other colours, was a nice, creative touch to the film. It was also styled in a cotton candy sort of way. In a peculiar way, it reminded me of the way the colour of the sky changes in the town of Morioh in the anime of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures — Diamond Is Unbreakable. And it did not feel out of place; it was really beautiful.
On the topic of bizarre, the score from Jerskin Fendrix was surreal and childlike. It felt like a play on a child’s windup toy box sound, which could be a reflection of Bella’s new life beginning at an infant age and growing up. The sounds and score are also perfectly blended with the comedic beats. All of the actors hit their comedic moments at the perfect moments, reacting unusually at times but in the funniest ways possible.
The journey from London, Lisbon, Alexandria, Paris and back to London was a lovely stretch of adventure for Bella’s discovery of the world and her identity. I also viewed this film as a mystery since I was constantly wondering if it would explain who Bella was before she died and was reborn. This was probably the most driving factor for me, aside from witnessing all of the sex scenes in Poor Things. While there were numerous sexual scenes, they were purposeful to an extent. Some films could use them for the shock value, but this was strangely different in a reasonable way.
Poor Things was a thought-provoking, cerebral trip that made me question a lot about femininity versus masculinity. It evokes a lot of strange feelings of wonder and whimsy, as the plot sometimes feels non-linear. It was definitely a winding journey, but it managed to avoid being silly, even when it was over the line. Even with the over two-hour runtime, Poor Things manages to make every minute worthwhile with a payoff that can’t be missed. With stunning scenes and symbolism that will keep film school lovers rewatching it on repeat to get every detail, Poor Things is a movie that can’t be missed.
