★★★★
Emma Stone says “sex workers’ rights!” in Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos from the novel by Alasdair Gray. This is a wildly imaginative and exhilaratingly over-the-top film that defies genre conventions. Set in Victorian Glasgow, it weaves together elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, creating a bizarre and brilliant tour de force. At its heart is the enigmatic Bella Baxter, portrayed fearlessly by Emma Stone.
Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a scientist, performs a macabre experiment: he places a baby’s brain into a corpse, giving life to Bella. Emma Stone’s performance is a revelation. She begins as a literal baby, navigating the acting challenge with oddness, keen observation, and wisdom. Bella’s progression is both incremental and rapid; she evolves from non-verbal to a thesaurus-verbose polymath, gleefully curious and unfiltered.
The film delves into gender dynamics, feminism, and social justice. Bella’s journey leads her to embrace sex work, science, socialism, and even custard tarts. As she cuts a swathe through an alternative fin-de-siècle Europe, she embodies self-realization. Her dance of defiance is captivating, and her desire to find the best way to live is both audacious and liberating. The film expands Bella’s perspective from the novel, giving her more agency and exploring her view of the world, whereas the novel is primarily told from Archibald McCandless’s (Max McCandles in the film) point of view.
Mark Ruffalo, as the wonderfully caddish Casanova lawyer Duncan Wedderburn, futilely attempts to subjugate Bella. Their dynamic adds humor and tension. The film’s steampunk aesthetic, surreal visuals, and biting satire make it a unique cinematic experience. Lanthimos and screenwriter Tony McNamara masterfully balance absurd dark comedy with rich emotional and political truths.
Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan train their fisheye lenses on stunning hyperreal European sets that resemble Jean-Pierre Jeunet doing a take on Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Querelle-inspired perfume ads. These environs create an absurd, playful and dreamlike mise-en-scene, full of painterly backdrops and ornate art nouveau architecture.
Poor Things is a weird, wild good time: a comedy that questions societal norms, challenges our perceptions, and leaves us both disturbed and exhilarated. Skip the silly reviews that focus on all the sex scenes – this steampunk escapade takes in identity, gender politics, control, coercion, scientific arrogance, Utopianism and self-empowerment. Poor Things dances on the edge of absurdity, celebrating the bizarre, the humorous, and the unexpected, while paying homage to Gray’s original tale.
Poor Things played at the Venice Film Festival, which runs until September 10, ahead of an expected cinema release in the UK.
Whitlock&Pope 