Poor Things is a tender, twisted, earnest fairytale that is both bold and uncompromising in Yorgos Lanthimos’ vision. As the film explores female sexuality, gender dynamics, and restrictions within society, Tony McNamara’s script is wickedly funny, deranged, and sweet.  Emma Stone delivers the performance of a lifetime as the instantly iconic Bella Baxter. 

Reuniting Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Tony McNamara after their beloved collaboration in 2018 with The Favourite, Poor Things proves the trio to be a dream team. The film, adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name, is opulent, perverse, and optimistic with stunning cinematography, intricate costume design, and an incredible score (an astonishing film debut from composer Jerskin Fendrix). Poor Things is somehow unlike anything Lanthimos has done before, yet so identifiable as something from only his mind. The film is hauntingly beautiful as we follow Stone on her journey and the story unfolds to speak so tenderly about society and the world. Poor Things at first glance may not appear to be a film that shows the world can be a place of kindness if all human beings just took care of one another, but perhaps it’s the point that in the sex filled, gothic fairytale is an earnest discussion on humanity. 

Bella Baxter (Stone) is not just any beautiful woman living in London; she’s quite literally a Frankengirl. Her caretaker, a scientist named Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), discovered her after she jumped off a bridge, while pregnant, and brought her back to his secluded home and performed a surgery on her to take the brain of her unborn baby and transplant it into Bella’s head. Bella looks to be in her late twenties but has the intelligence and overall development of a toddler. While she’s able to sit, walk around, and use simple words or grunts, she’s uncoordinated and unable to speak full sentences. As someone who has a toddler, Stone’s performance was unnerving as she threw food, grunts to communicate, and is easily amused and frustrated. Despite how Bella is so kooky and a bit unhinged as she runs around her ‘father’s’ laboratory, Stone plays her with such conviction you not only believe her to have the mind of a toddler, but you can also sense she’s about to grow into someone so much more. 

Poor Things follows as Godwin, who Bella calls God, struggles to deal with how Bella yearns for more; she desperately aches to explore the world and find out what she’s capable of. The Baxter home is shot not only as claustrophobic as one can get but its also filmed in black and white by Director of Photography, Robbie Ryan, allowing the audience to feel confines of the home just like Bella does. Max McCandless (Ramy Youssef), a student of Godwin, agrees to help his professor with keeping an eye on Bella and helping her advance. As Godwin comes to realize he cannot keep Bella from longing for more out of life, he agrees Max can marry Bella to give her some new adventure in life, but only under the agreement they remain in the Baxter home. Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) is called in as a lawyer to write up the terms of the marriage, but as he looks over the agreement, he grows curious of just who Bella is. He sweeps her off her feet with an edge she’s never seen before. He promises to take Bella on a journey across the world that would open her eyes to all the possibilities the world has to offer that she could never get from the comfort of the Baxter home. 

On their journey, Bella not only comes to terms with her womanhood as she discovers how to operate in the world, but she becomes aware of the people that fill the new countries she explores with Duncan. At first, the world is exciting and full of pastel de nata, but she soon learns of the politics that she must navigate in society, such as being polite at dinner and other burdens put on women to please the men she orbits. Poor Things never feels exploitive as it embarks on an odyssey exploring female sexuality. When Bella first learns about sex, she describes it gleefully as furious jumping and the scenarios range from steamy to silly. As the film guides on, many characters ridicule Bella for her exploration of her sexuality, but Bella shrugs them all off, a nod at the audience to do the same. Throughout Poor Things, Bella breaks free from every man who attempts to control her. From her desire to leave Godwin behind to find a new world to her eventual outgrowing of Duncan for something that fulfils her specifically. As her mind grows and matures, Bella is always in control and approaches all situations with an openminded perspective. 

Poor Things is set in the late 19th century but feels in another universe at times. The architecture feels almost of a space age and the skies are full of unnatural colors at times. As Bella takes in the world for the first time, the audience does as well under the uncompromising Lanthimos vision. The breathtaking production design (Shona Heath and James Price) is filled with accurate period detail yet modern and unique touches to transport audiences to another world. Holly Waddington’s costume design is brilliant as it feels full of wildly never seen before silhouettes but so period appropriate at the same time. The costumes continue to tell the story of Bella maturing and growing into a woman as the color palettes and silhouettes grow as her mind does. The unique, incredible score by Fendrix is one of the best scores of the year and becomes a character of its own as Poor Things unfolds on screen. 

The style of the film never drowns out the story as Lanthimos and his team have such control over every ounce of the film. One aspect of the film never speaks louder than any other; everything comes together in a manner that appears effortless, but only a true master such as Lanthimos could pull off. At the center of everything is Stone with her best performance to date; her commitment to Bella is boundless and the entire film relies on her pulling it off.  

Poor Things is more than one could ever expect from Lanthimos. The film has his signature style but is more empathetic and hopeful than any of his previous films. While Dogtooth explored people coming to understand the world around them, Poor Things is more earnest in its telling of humanity. The entire ensemble of characters allows for Bella, and the audience, to understand the world in a more compassionate way. From Kathryn Hunter, the tattooed madame, to Christopher Abbott to Jerrod Carmichael, each supporting character tells a story no matter their screentime and they each piece together the world Lanthimos seems to have a positive outlook on. 

The film feels like an instant classic and one of the best of Lanthimos’ filmography as its anchored by a tour de force performance from Stone. As the film explores female sexuality, gender dynamics, and restrictions within society, McNamara’s script is wickedly funny, deranged, and sweet. Poor Things is a tender, twisted, earnest fairytale that is both bold and uncompromising in Lanthimos’ vision.

Grade: A

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actress (Emma Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Make Up & Hair Styling
Should be Considered: Best Original Score

Release Date: December 8, 2023
Where to Watch: In Select Theaters

Kenzie Vanunu
she/her @kenzvanunu
Lives in LA with her husband, daughter and dog. Misses Arclight, loves iced vanilla coffees.
Favorite Director: David Cronenberg
Sign: Capricorn