Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things follows Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a woman with her own baby’s brain – an experiment by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Sounds horrifying, but this is the opposite of the “Frankenstein’s Monster” that you’re expecting. As Bella’s baby brain catches up with her body, she’s develops the one thing we all are cursed with: curiosity.
I am still lost for words on Emma Stone’s performance. Stone managed to depict herself as a toddler-minded lady and grow into a nymphomaniac who eventually wants nothing but purpose in life. If you read between the lines, Bella Baxter is the most relatable character you’ll ever witness on film.
Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn is charismatic with his silver-tongued British accent, and his hysterical one-liners which will have you howling.
The set and costume design are mesmerising, I didn’t dare to blink for I feared of missing something even more extraordinary.
Yorgos Lanthimos has cemented himself as one of the greats of absurdist cinema!! I have been a huge fan of Yorgos Lanthimos’s catalogue of absurdist films so I was already expecting Poor Things to be brilliant way before the ridiculously good reviews came piling in. For those of you who are not familiar with Yorgos’s films, I highly recommend: The Lobster (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), and The Favourite (2018).
The cinematography is a tonic for tired eyes, there’s not a single frame of this film that won’t have you salivating. I have to tip my hat off to Yorgos for transitioning Bella’s world to colour once she discovers the pleasure and joy of sexual liberation.