So, just for a change, I thought I would do a new review of a new film for a change and the film in question is the acclaimed dark comedy fantasy (I think we can call it that anyway!) Poor Things starring the Academy Award winning actress, Emma Stone in the main role as a young woman who has been re-animated after her death.
So, this film had been getting rave reviews for its whackiness, visual design, unusual soundtrack and of course its performances but does it warrant all that? Well, let's find out...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the film begins with a young woman, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) who is at first very child-like and moves around like an infant learning to walk and talk. However we soon learn that Bella is in fact the result of an experiment conducted by an eccentric surgeon named Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who took the body of the woman, who was prgenant at the time of her death, removed her baby and take out its brain and placed it into the woman's head and brought her back to life in an Frankstein-esque manner, meaning that Bella now has her own child's brain for her own (yep its that kind of film!).
Bella however soon begins to mature rapidly and her intelligence grows as does her sexual curiousity with her own body (as she does things with an apple!). Godwin is also assisted in his work by a medical student, Max, who is infatuated with Bella and Godwin suggests that he marry her in order to keep Bella in the confines of his home. Bella curiosity with the outside world begins to overwhelm her and she soon demands to leave and explore the world as she meets Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) a sleazy lawyer, who also takes a liking to Bella (Duncan was brought in to look over a marriage contract for Max and Bella). Bella then travels with Duncan much to the annoyance of Godwin and Max although she insists she will return to marry Max.
Bella and Duncan then embark on a wild journey, which begins in Lisbon where they have regular sex but Bella's curiosity with her surroundings makes her difficult for Duncan to control. So, Duncan decides to smuggle her onto a cruise ship where she befriends two passengers, who open her mind to philosophy much to Duncan's frustration as fails to try and stunt her growth and begins to drink and gamble. Bella however is soon shown the darker side of the world, with a stop off in Alexandra, she witnesses the poor and destitute. Bella then decides to donate Duncan's winnings to help them but gives the winnings unwittingly to two crew members who pretend they will honour her wish. Unable to afford the rest of the cruise, Bella and Duncan are turfed off the ship in France and they make their way to Paris.
Once they arrived in Paris, Bella in an effort to seek money and accommodation, begins to work in a brothel, much to Duncan's horror, who is outraged and Bella decides to abandon him. Bella also befriends another prostitute working at the brothel, Toinette (Suzy Bemba) who she begins a relationship with and she also expands Bella's learning and educates her about the concept of socialism.
However back in London, we learn that Godwin is now dying from cancer and he insists tht Max try and find Bella and bring her back home. Bella soon get's word of this and returns home but she also soon learns of Godwin's experiment on her but she forgives him. Bella then decides to go ahead with her promise to marry Max, however at the day of the wedding Duncan reappears with a stranger, who claims to be Bella's husband.
And its from here we learn what happened to Bella before her death and what fate awaits ahead of her ...
THOUGHTS
As far as whacky out there films go, Poor Things certainly is a prime candidate on that front is it is a truly bizzare and eccentric film that tries to pay homage to different genres from fantasy to horror to comedy to drama, Poor Things is an amalgam of all these. Yet despite its weirdness, Poor Things is also highly entertaining and its also visually impressive in its of black and white and colour as well as fisheye lenses to give the film a kind of peep show view of things in certain scenes. The film also doesn't hold back in its graphic depiction of surgical scenes, particularly where we see what happens to Bella (yikes!).
The film of course is also based on the book by Scottish author, Alisdair Gray, although the main difference between the book and the film is that the book is based in Glasgow and the film in London, which was a creative choice made by the film's director, Yorgos Lanthimos. Bella herself is a truly unique character here as she is a developing child in a woman's body and her course to self discovery is both truly bizzare and also very funny and the supporting characters are equally as weird and intriguin particularly Godwin, Bella's "father" and Duncan the sleazy lawyer, Bella runs off with.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)
As for the performances, the cast are all on top form throughout here.
Starting with Emma Stone, who is superb in the main role as Bella Baxter, the child-like woman, who develops quickly as a result of a somewhat gruesome experiment by Godwin and she dservedly won the Oscar for her performance at this years Academy Awards.
Emma has numerous highlights in the film but I will try and keep it to just a few here to not make the post too long winded. For starters there is the scene where Bella on the cruise ship sits with her two new friends, Martha and Harry and Duncan approaches her and tries to pry her away from them.
So, in the scene Duncan says to Bella "You're always reading now, Bella. You're losing that adorable way of speaking" and Bella says "I am a changeable feast. As are we all. Apparently according to Emerson, disagreed with by Harry". Duncan testily then tells Bella "Come, come, just come!" but Bella stays put and says "You're in my sun" as Duncan grabs her book and throws it away overboard but then Martha gives her another book but Duncan throws that one overboard too.
Then there is the scene where Bella and Duncan have been thrown off the cruise ship and they arrive in Paris with no money. So, Duncan is outraged on learning that Bella gave his gambling winnings away to the poor (or more accurately two crewmen on the cruise ship!) and berates her for it. So, Duncan shouts at her "You selfish, thoughtless, careless bitch!!" and Bella says "I am not thoughtless Duncan. More like, it is true my ability to think things through to the logical conclusion is not strong. I did help those suffering people. I have ruined us as you pointed out. But I do believe my actions came from a good place" and he sits forward in dispair and she pats him on the back.
And then there is hilarious scene where Bella having started working in a local brothel in Paris, returns to Duncan as she eats a cone, leaving Duncan horrified on learning this (the brothel not the cone). So, Duncan almost in tears says to her "You are a monster! I see nothing in you but ugliness!" and Bella says to him "That last bit was uncalled for and makes no sense, as your odes to my beauty have been boring but constant. And this simple act erased all that". Duncan leans over devastated, he says "You whored yourself!" and Bella none the wiser says "Which are you now going to explain to me is bad. Can I never win with you?" and Duncan says "Its the worst thing a woman can do!". Bella then says "We should definitely never marry. I'm a flawed, experimenting person, and I will need a husband with a more forgiving disposition. Farewell Duncan Wedderburn" and Duncan now furious shouts a rather bad word "CUNT!!!!".
Then there is the scene where Max is reuinted with Bella as they walk together and she tells him of her adventuring and says "I have been a whore you understand. Cocks for money inside me. Are you okay with that? Or is the whore thing a challenge to the desire for ownership men have" and Max says "I feel merely jealous of the men's time with you, rather than a moral aspersion against you. It is your body, Bella Baxter. Yours to give freely" and Bella tells him "I charge 30 francs" and he says "Seems low". Bella then stops him and asks "Will you marry me, Max McCandles?" and Max delighted, says "I will" and they kiss and she smiles and says "We will need less of your tongue in future but overall most agreeable".
And last of all is the scene where Bella returns to Godwin as she asks him over her "surgery" to become who she is. So, in the scene Belle says to Godwin "So, Bella says to Godwin "So I am your creation, as is the other one?" and Godwin says to her "Neither of you are that. She wanders the halls with a hammer and a song, that is not my doing, and I have read your cards and letters home and watched you fearlessly create Bella Baxter with wonder". Bella then icily tells Godwin "I am finding being alive fascinating so I will forgive you the act but hate the lies and trapping that followed. Anger, confusion and brain disonance aside, I have missed you. I arrived home and smelt the formeldyhyde and knew what was next. I will be a doctor".
Mark Ruffalo next is great in his role as Duncan Wedderburn, the sleazy lawyer, who Bella runs away with as they go on a mad explorative journey together and he is often very funny in the film even if his English RP accent isn't that convincing!
And Ruffalo also has plenty of highlights in the film that include the scene where after Bella and Duncan have sex when they are in Lisbon, Bella urges him to go again although Dunca has his limits!
So, in the scene Bella asks "Why do people not just do this all time??" and Duncan tells her feeling a bit exhausted "Well, at the risk of not sounding too modest, you've just been thrice fucked by the very best. Its probably no other man can bring the raptures I've ever bring you. I feel bad for you". Bella then asks "Well, it be just you I do "furious jumping" with?" and Duncan laughs and says "Jumping, I love that!" and Bella says "I'm rested, let's go again!" and Duncan smiles and says "Again? Unfortunately even I have my limits. Men cannot keep coming back for more". Bella then asks "Is it a psychological problem? A weakness in men?" and Duncan says "Probably. You'd be best advised not to fall in love with me, I have little to offer in terms of consistency, just adventure" and Bella says "I see" and Duncan says "Let us sleep".
Then there is the scene where on the cruise ship, Duncan takes offence of Bella's bluntness infront of the some of the passengers they dine with. So, Duncan sharply tells her off for use of language and says to her "Your behaviour is unconscionable. Will you behave?!" and Bella angrily says to him "The foo was cacking my throat, the baby annoying and woman boring with words!" and Duncan firmly tells her "You will rejoin the table and confine yourself to the following thee phases "How marvelous", "delighful" and "How did they get the pastry so crisp?".
And then there is the scene where Duncan is devastated on learning that Bella not only whored herself at the brothel but also had a stash of money that Godwin gave her for "emergencies". So, Duncan furiously says to her "YOU ARE A MONSTER. A WHORE AND A MONSTER! You are a demon sent from hell to rip my spirit to shreds to punish my tiny sins with a tsunami of destruction. To take my heart and pull it like taffy, to ruin me. I look at you and see nothing but ugliness!!". Bella then says to Duncan "I am a flawed experimenting person and I need a more understanding husband, so we cannot marry" and she takes out some money "I shall buy a passage back to London" and Duncan looks shocked and says "You had money the whole TIME??!" and Bella tells him "It was for emergencies" and Duncan shouts at her "Its been a fucking emergency for weeks!!". Bella then says "I belive this time whole time you would rise to the occassion but now I see there is something broken in you" and Duncan angrily tells her "YOU broke something inside me!!" and Bell says "I feel this conversation has become circular" and Duncan furiously yells "CUUUNT!!!!".
Willem Dafoe next is also great in his role as Godwin Baxter, the surgeon who operates on Bella to bring her back to life after her death by implanting her unborn baby's brain in her own head.
So, I will mention just two of Dafoe's scenes starting with the one where Godwin and Max sit and eat and Godwin suggests that Max marry Bella but Max asks why Godwin doesn't have her, so Godwin rather hilariously explains why.
So, Max says to Godwin "I thought you were raising her to be you mistress, a dark though, unworthy of me I know. So you are not laying with her". So, Godwin candidly and scientifically explains "Spermatic ejaculation can only induce homeostasis in me if accompanied by prolonged stimulation of higher nerve centres whose pressure upon the ductless glands changes the chemistry of my blood not for a few spasmodic minutes but for many days". Max puzzled asks "What??" and Godwin spells it out for him "I am a eunuch and can’t fuck her!! To get a sexual response from my body would take the same amount of electricity as runs North London! Besides my paternal feelings seem to outweigh my sexual thoughts".
And last of all is the scene where Bella returns to London when Godwin is dying and on returning to see him, she is initially angry with him for creating her the way he did but she soon forgives him. So, Bella says to Godwin "So I am your creation, as is the other one?" and Godwin says to her "Neither of you are that. She wanders the halls with a hammer and a song, that is not my doing, and I have read your cards and letters home and watched you fearlessly create Bella Baxter with wonder". Bella then icily tells Godwin "I am finding being alive fascinating so I will forgive you the act but hate the lies and trapping that followed. Anger, confusion and brain disonance aside, I have missed you. I arrived home and smelt the formeldyhyde and knew what was next. I will be a doctor". Godwin smiles and says to her "My surgery is yours. My father once said, always carve with compassion. He was a fucking idiot but its not bad advice" and Bella smiles.
Ramy Youssef is also very good in his role as Max, the young medical student, who studies along with Godwin and falls for Bella despite her wild behaviour.
And Ramy has some good moments too such as the one where Max finds papers and diagrams of surgical procedures relating to Bella. So, Max decides to confront Godwin about what happened to Bella and he says to him "What did you do to her? And why are you hiding her? Tell me what all this means, or I go to the police?" and Godwyn tells him "For it is a happy tale!".
Another good scene is when Max is reuinted with Bella as they walk together and she tells him of her adventuring and says "I have been a whore you understand. Cocks for money inside me. Are you okay with that? Or is the whore thing a challenge to the desire for ownership men have" and Max says "I feel merely jealous of the men's time with you, rather than a moral aspersion against you. It is your body, Bella Baxter. Yours to give freely" and Bella tells him "I charge 30 francs" and he says "Seems low".
And lastly there is the scene where Max and Bella are about to marry but the ceremony is interrupted by Duncan and a man claiming to be Bella's husband. So, in the scene Ducan in a fit of mad ramblings accuses Godwin of this being his evil doing "He is the God of it! It is a devil's hand at work. As you see, he coughs blood and not air!" and Max says "He has cancer you fucking idiot!".
Christopher Abbott, is very good in his role as Bella's real life husband, Alfie Bellington, who Bella learns the real truth of what happened to her and why she took her life (as depicted at the start of the film). For time and to not spoil the ending as much, I won't mention his scenes but he does have a pretty bizarre and amsuing ending!
And last of all is Suzy Bemba as Toinette, a prostitute at the brothel where Bella works, who becomes romantically invovled with her during their time working there but again I won't mention her scenes for time. And last last of all is Kathryn Hunter, who does well in her creepy role as Madam Swiney, who runs the brother in Paris and we find she has some weird tatoos all over her body later on. So, yeah, she fits right at home in this film!
DIRECTOR
As for the director, Yorgos Lanthimos does an excellent job overall and has created a truly bizzare and surreal experience for the viewer as he expertly mixes in both colour and black and white and also adopts the use of fisheye lenses to create a peephole sensation, as if the characters are being spied on or viewed by outsiders. Yorgos also provides some incredible sets for the film and most of the exterior scenes where shot at Origo studios in Budapest. Its a film that definitely has an arty look to it but it also is a generous mix of styles blended together all at once making this like collage film-mkaing if you like. Its also worth noting that Lanthimos also adopts the same font for the titles as used in Stanley Kubrick's comedy Dr Strangelove only he plasters them around the corners of the frame in a unique manner. All in all though, this is a fine effort from Lanthimos.
MUSIC
As for the music, it was composed by pop musician Jerskin Fendrix and it is entirely appropriate to the bizarre tone of the film as it is mix of goofiness, horror, drama and adventure all at once. So, overall its a pretty good score and well suited to the film without a doubt, there are perhaps parts of it I thought were a bit too loud and overbearing but that aside its still pretty good.
FLAWS
As for flaws..its hard to pick out flaws for this film but it does have some worth a mention at the same time.
For starters, I think the film does threaten to choke itself on its own eccentricity and early on it could potentially alienate an audience with the setup of Bella as a child, it might give people the wrong idea of this being a really stupid, goofy B movie as that was my initial thoughts in the first 20 minutes or so of the film.
I also think Bella's rapid intellectual growth throughout the film suggests that her longevity could be limited given if her brain advances too fast then she could die young also, as her brain could age quicker than she does. However, this is of course just a theory and she could mature and maintain her cognitive functions normally for the rest of her life but it does raise the question of just how long will Bella have to live? It makes me think of the Blade Runner situation in which the replicants have a four year lifespan, so just maybe Bella might have one too but who knows? Anyway it is just a thought. ;-)
I also thought the setup of the end was a bit bizzare too as well given that Bella had a relationship with Toinette and is presumably married to Max by the end, does this mean that they will all get involved in a threesome?? Or will they have separate relationships together, so to speak?? Its hard to say, as they might just be good friends at that point.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, Poor Thing is a very much a wild ride of a film, which doesn't hold back in its depiction of an experimental woman on her own journey of self discovery with plenty of sex scenes and gory surgery scenes, its not a film for the faint hearted (so not really for me either lol!). However there is still alot to enjoy here and it is often very funny and the performances are great, particularly Stone, Ruffalo and Dafoe, and Emma Stone thoroughly deserved her Oscar win for this role. So, if you go into the one with no expectations, then you might just enjoy it as it really surprised me.
So, I will rate Poor Things:
9 out of 10
So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.
Until then bye for now!
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