Poor Things (2023)

Another film from director Yorgos Lanthimos, who has delivered one stunning feature after another for the past decade (and even his earlier work is of interest to those who appreciate his strange look at the world), Poor Things is a film I wish I had seen sooner, but I just couldn’t schedule the cinema trip. I am now even more regretful of that missed opportunity.

Emma Stone plays Bella, a young woman who has been created, in a way, by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As she rushes through various stages of development, from learning language to eventually learning about the pleasures of sex, Bella accepts a proposal from Godwin’s assistant, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef). She feels as if she should see a bit more of the world first though, and ends up travelling for a while with the caddish (although a number of other adjectives could also be listed here) Duncan Wedderburn.

Adapted from a novel by Alasdair Gray, Poor Things has a screenplay by Tony McNamara, wonderful cinematography from Robbie Ryan, and a suitably strange and wonderful score by Jerskin Fendrix. I am mentioning these people now before I forget them entirely, because my movie reviews simply don’t have the space to list every single person who contributed to this wonderful vision. Rest assured, however, that this is the kind of film that makes you want to take note of every name, from the production designers to the wardrobe department, from the make up to the lighting. It really is a brilliant group effort to deliver a vision that will be credited mainly to the director and cast.

Moving from what seems like a standard period drama setting to a cool, unexplained, steampunk sci-fi world, Lanthimos is once again having fun with an implausible concept that he can use to scrutinize the rules and hypocrisies of society. This would make an excellent companion piece to his masterpiece, The Lobster, covering the equally important topics of love and sex.

Stone is brilliant in the lead performance here, hilariously non-conformist and constantly questioning the rules and etiquette she sees as obstacles to her enjoyment of life. Ruffalo is equally good, and has many of the best lines in the film, swearing and klutzing his way through every scene as he tries to make himself out to be a much better man than he really is. Dafoe, working under some excellent make up, is as dependable as ever, even doing a decent job with what I think was meant to be a Scottish accent, and Youssef heads up a fine selection of supporting players, including Vicki Pepperdine, Margaret Qualley, and Christopher Abbott.

Simultaneously both funnier and darker than I expected, and also cruder and smarter, this has already been quite rightly praised as one of the best movies of 2023. It has plenty packed in every scene to reward repeat viewings, and I am already keen to make time for my own rewatch.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share