Movie Review: Poor Things (2023)

Genre: Fantasy Dramedy  

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos  

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef  

Running Time: 142 minutes  

Synopsis: In Victorian London, eccentric scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) reanimates suicide victim Bella (Emma Stone) after implanting the brain of her unborn baby in her head. Bella makes quick progress re-learning to walk and talk, and Godwin recruits medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to monitor her development. Bella discovers sexual pleasure, and Godwin suggests that Max should marry her. Unscrupulous lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) swoops in and lures Bella into joining him on a sex-filled adventure starting in Lisbon, but he gets more than he bargained for.

What Works Well: The adaptation of Alasdair Gray's novel is a fantastical journey into societal what-ifs. Writer Tony McNamara combines macabre humour with serious themes discarding the politeness shaping women's behaviour and allowing unconstrained discovery of the human condition. Uninhibited and unprogrammed, Bella rejects the men attempting to confine and control her behaviour, gravitating instead to what interests her physically, intellectually, and economically. Director Yorgos Lanthimos and his cinematographer Robbie Ryan create stunningly artistic visuals combining surrealism with a cyberpunk aesthetic, mixing colour, black and white, fish-eye lenses, keyhole perspectives, gloomy skies, and impressionist backgrounds into audacious dynamism. Emma Stone's evolution from awkward child-in-a-woman's-body to a confident sophisticate is a delight.

What Does Not Work As Well: A 20 minute trim would have tightened the narrative, while Bella's sexual appetite is allowed to dominate at the expense of other adult pursuits.

Key Quote:

Bella: If I know the world I can improve it.

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