Film Review - Poor Things
Images courtesy of 20th Century Studios.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ career trajectory, much like his films, has been anything but ordinary. From indie flicks like Dogtooth and The Lobster, to slowly acquiring more mainstream recognition with the likes of The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite, the latter of which received a bump in star power from Emma Stone and an equivalent boost in industry attention in the form of award wins. His latest film Poor Things solidifies Stone as his muse, with the director/actor duo spreading their creative wings and soaring into uncharted territory.
We follow Bella Baxter (Stone), a Frankenstein-like creation of Willem Dafoe’s Dr. Godwin “God” Baxter - complete with an exceptionally morbid backstory that utilises some borderline Lynchian visuals - as her child-like naivete grows into wide-eyed wonder, and she embarks on a journey across Europe in the company of Britbong fuckboy Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo in an exceptionally repugnant role). Engaging in hedonism and pontificating on the various constructs of polite society, Bella’s seemingly boundless curiosity is matched by her complete lack of inhibition, and through its stunning wide-angle cinematography and luscious production design, the film paints a mural of life that's equal parts gorgeous, sad, and bizarre.
Even amongst Lanthimos’ previous attempts to break viewer's brains and walk the razor’s edge of what could be considered off-putting without veering into absurdity purely for its own sake, Poor Things manages to stand out thanks to the film’s strong-headed willingness to push its concepts and execute them to their fullest potential. 2023 was an incredible year for films that felt personal and unique despite their massive scale, with entries like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Barbie, and Across the Spider-verse heralding this movement on blockbuster budgets. But in spite of - or perhaps thanks to - its meagre origins, Poor Things caps off the year with thunderous gusto, showcasing a sumptuous visual banquet that could rival any of its contemporaries, along with killer performances from its esteemed cast.
Dafoe is a given gold standard when it comes to playing freaky little weirdos at this point, but I was honestly not expecting to come out of this thinking so highly of Ruffalo. No offence to the guy, he seems like a genuinely lovely bloke, but to me he's always seemed to coast by on his generally affable manner. Stripped of any of that natural charisma, he instead chews up the scenery with bravado, playing a pompous kind of straight man amidst all the surrealism. Likewise, character actors Kathryn Hunter and Jerrod Carmichael are worth shouting out as some of the more sympathetic and kind characters Bella comes across, but the film would be nothing without its lead.
Stone portrays the physicality of Miss Baxter with perfection, showing her evolution from immature and stiff mannequin to a far more graceful, yet still undoubtedly strange woman, all the while delivering all the varied emotions of a juvenile life with conviction and sincerity. Between this and her role on Showtime’s The Curse, she's shot to the top of my favourite “actors who made it big and then proceeded to do cool, weird shit” list, and it seems rather fitting that we may end up seeing her and Margot Robbie nominated for the same Oscar, given how similar their films are thematically and aesthetically.
Taking an off-kilter look at a heightened version of society, the film asks the viewer to introspect on why we do or don't do certain things, what is polite and proper and what are merely remnants of an antiquated civilization, all while delivering this in a package that's practically bursting at the seams with vivacity. Liberating in all the right ways, Poor Things is a heartwarming oddball of a film, matching the gorgeous with the grotesque, showing that even in life's most dire circumstances there is still so much joy to be found.
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Poor Things is screening in cinemas from Boxing Day. For tickets and more info, click here.