Poor Things (2023)
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Poor Things Movie Review
Poor Things is a 2023 black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone. It’s the director’s best work to date.
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“I must go punch that baby“
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It follows Bella Baxter, a young woman in Victorian London who comes to life through a brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. I am not a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos and up until this point there hasn’t been a single film of his that I enjoyed. But with Poor Things he’s finally made a more appealing film for those of us who aren’t accustomed to his weird for the sake of being weird shtick. This film is still offbeat, but this time around it fits the premise at hand and the execution is actually quite strong.
If a story about a woman learning about herself and fighting for her place in society as a woman sounds familiar, it’s because ‘Barbie’ also did this subject, but in a much less effective manner. The movie is primarily about the importance of personal agency, living your life to the fullest and choosing your own path in life instead of being dictated by others. Primarily, though, the movie is wonderfully pro-sex in all of its glory. In an era when American films are extremely conservative, it was quite refreshing to witness a movie that is so open about the importance of sexual pleasures. Emma Stone should also be congratulated for going there in terms of nudity alone, but also in terms of this role demanding so much from her physically and emotionally.
Poor Things also was very much inspired by ‘Frankenstein’. It’s a feminist take on this oft-told story, but it does have significant science fiction elements, especially in its exploration of personal identity. Some of those scenes where Bella questioned about herself were wonderfully existentialist, all leading to that fantastic twist in the third act about her origin that made sense in the context of the story and was hinted at in one crucial scene before. It’s such a well written script.
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I loved Christopher Abbott’s performance and I usually do not find this actor particularly interesting, but he was such a strong villain in that third act that came out of nowhere and made an impact. The final scene was very cruel, but still memorably so. The third act is a bit rushed, but it’s so twisty and deranged that I loved every second of it.
But the best part of the film is the second act. This is where the film finally found its groove after a very clunky first third or so. The black-and-white section was gorgeously composed and artistic, but the movie was in those initial stretches in desperate need of a brisker pace and a more energetic approach. This is a comedy after all and the jokes and excitement were thoroughly lacking then.
Thankfully, the second act fixed all of that with a renewed sense of purpose, vitality and strong humor. The highlight was the prostitution section that featured hilariously witty and playful dialogue. Some lines made me laugh quite a bit. It’s a shame that the rest of the film was never as funny as those moments clearly were. Some of the dialogue was overly contemporary, representing a view of the Victorian mores through a decidedly 21st century lens, but as was the case with the entire film, the dialogue progressively became better as it went along.
Willem Dafoe is playing Willem Dafoe in this story, which is fine with me. Yes, this isn’t one of his best roles to date obviously, but it’s still an important supporting turn, one that imbued the movie with a lot of fatherly warmth. He was typecast, but I would much rather him play this role effectively than other actors not fit to do so.
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Case in point, Mark Ruffalo. He plays this very possessive and controlling husband figure to Bella, a man who is pathetic in his cries of anger and despair. We’ve never quite seen Ruffalo in such a role before, so this effort has to be admired as it’s so new for him. With that being said, although he was quite good in some of his scenes and his dynamic with Stone is strong, at other times I could see him acting and struggling to be as over-the-top as the role demanded.
A lot has been said about Emma Stone’s work here and I have to agree that she is absolutely phenomenal. This is one of her most comedic roles to date and she effortlessly sold her character’s brazenly honest personality. It wasn’t easy to basically play a child and then this young woman full of life and vigor, but she was magnetic and believable throughout, eventually delivering what is probably her career-best performance.
Poor Things is an audio-visual delight. Yorgos Lanthimos is a director who favors maximalism in favor of minimalism and that is on full display here. Everything in this film is extra and nothing is small. The score is phenomenal, eclectic and consistently otherworldly in its tone. The production design is splendid and so are the extravagant costumes on display while the cinematography is particularly accomplished, especially in the very unique fisheye lens incorporated. It gave the movie a distorted look that further complemented its surreal nature, almost seeming like a fairy tale instead of reality. The deformed babies scene was an artistic homage to the works of Hieronymus Bosch and it was the most visually striking moment in a film that was consistently stunning to look at. The editing is also strong, but I wished for more sophistication in dialogue that was at times overly on-the-nose and too modern. The repetitive nature to the plot was also evident, and again that first act was a real chore to sit through.
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It finally happened. I did not hate a Yorgos Lanthimos movie. In fact, I quite liked Poor Things. This is Barbie for grownups as the two movies are eerily similar in their themes, but this one is much more accomplished and sophisticated in its handling of those themes. Yes, some of the dialogue is overly contemporary and the first act seriously lacked energy, humor and momentum that the movie only garnered in its second act onward. The twisty third act was quite fun while the second act was a delight. The acting performances are pretty good across the board, but it is Emma Stone who is the real standout here, delivering what is probably her career-best turn. Bella Baxter is an instantly iconic movie character and her arc was fantastic. The movie is also worth seeing for its audio-visuals alone – the production design is mesmerizing, the costumes are stunning, the score is striking and the fisheye lens is quite unique, fitting the surreal, almost fairytale feel to the movie like a glove.
My Rating – 4
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