PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’m a huge Emma Stone fan, and I have loved her and had a massive crush on her since Superbad. When I heard that Emma was teaming up with The Killing of a Sacred Deer director Yorgos Lanthimos for a comedy take on a Frankenstein-esque story, I got majorly excited, and I’ve been waiting for this film ever since. I thought I was going to have to wait till Blu-Ray to see it but luckily for me, my best friend Wes took me to see it for my early birthday celebration. Did Poor Things live up to my lofty expectations? Read on to find out.
Poor Things was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos from a script by Tony McNamara (The Favourite) based on Alasdair Gray’s novel. The film stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Ramy Youssef (Wish), Vicki Pepperdine (My Cousin Rachel), Christopher Abbott (Possessor), Jerrod Carmichael (The Disaster Artist), Suzy Bemba (Kadisha), and Mark Ruffalo (The Adam Project).
The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter.
I want to start by saying that Poor Things was everything I wanted and more. It’s one of the most genuinely hilarious comedies I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s not just physical gags, it’s Bella Baxter’s lack of filter (“I must go punch that baby”), the films use of language (especially vulgarity, as I will now be adding the insult “Cunty McCuntface” and the phrase ‘furious jumping” to my lexicon) and the characters themselves having a unique quirkiness to them.
The characters are embodied by an excellent cast. Emma Stone (whose performance earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress) gives an incredibly hilarious, brave, sexy and fierce performance as the film’s lead Bella Baxter. It’s an absolute joy to watch Stone navigate Bella through her journey of self-discovery. Willem Dafoe is charming and easy to love and abhor in equal measure as Doctor Godwin Baxter. If this performance doesn’t finally net Dafoe an Oscar win, then there is no justice in this world. Mark Ruffalo is pretty much synonymous with playing awkward lovable nice guys. His Duncan Wedderburn character isn’t that. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s a charming and manipulative scoundrel and this is honestly the first time I’ve hated Ruffalo’s character in a film because he embodies the scummy abusive vibe so well. Remy Youssef’s Max McCandles is one of the few genuinely good people in the film. Youssef just makes him so damn likable and his relationship with Bella is cute.
Poor Things is absolutely breathtaking. The production design is so beautiful to look at. There are so many little details that you can notice if given the time to analyze the scenes. The cinematography is gorgeous, although at times it appears to have a case of Walleye Vision, which serves to disorient the audience when needed. The story is expertly told and wonderfully entertaining. There’s a little bit of everything in this film. There’re some disturbing elements, a few bits of gore, a love story, tons of sex and a woman mentally coming of age and discovering who she is as a person as well as discovering her sexuality and her own bodily autonomy.
Final Thoughts
Poor Things is a truly beautiful film in every way. It’s hilarious, disturbing, romantic, sexy, has the perfect cast and tells one hell of a great story. This film is easily in my top five films of last year; it may just be my number one spot. Highly Recommended.
Poor Things is currently in theaters.
