From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
What We Thought:
Poor Things will be the 2023 movie I judge people on. If they say it’s Best Picture worthy, I’ll know they are just another pretentious film wannabe. If they say they didn’t like it, I’ll know they are being honest. It’s one of those movies people will want to like and say they like because you’re supposed to like it. It’s going to be nominated for multiple awards all season long, but I have no reason to ever watch it again.
Of Yorgos Lanthimos’ previous four films that I had seen, I only liked two of them. I liked The Lobster and although I thought The Favourite was a little overrated, I’d consider watching it a second time at some point. I didn’t like Dogtooth or The Killing of a Sacred Deer at all. I had the same reaction to Poor Things as I did those two.
I’m all for someone making different types of movies. I even don’t mind something being weird for the sake of being weird, but I got absolutely nothing out of this. Emma Stone having an adult body, but with the mind of a child, walking funny and saying outrageous things doesn’t cut it. Sure I might have laughed at some things (who doesn’t want to hit a baby?), but the concept grew tiresome quickly.
That’s a shame because so much of it could have worked. The production design is off-beat enough that it could rival a Tim Burton film. Mark Ruffalo seemed to have fun in a not-so-serious role for him. Willem Dafoe as a quirky character is usually a positive. Emma Stone is an attractive woman and audiences will see parts of her they might not have seen before. That all being said, I just didn’t care about it by film’s end. It felt repetitive and is way too long.
That’s the biggest issue, Stone’s character goes on such a long journey of self and sexual discovery that you forget about characters in the beginning of the movie. Then it sort of rushes to the end and doesn’t even end the way I think it should. Cut it by a half hour and maybe it’s a better watch being tighter and not as drawn out.
If you can’t tell, I wasn’t a fan of Poor Things. I honestly can’t see why anyone would be other than to fit in with crowd. I like Emma Stone and would watch a movie because she’s in it. Same for Ruffalo and Dafoe, but I won’t be watching this ever again.
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Screenplay by: Tony McNamara
Produced by: Ed Guiney p.g.a., Andrew Lowe p.g.a., Yorgos Lanthimos p.g.a., Emma Stone p.g.a.
Cast: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbot, Suzy Bemba, Jerrod Carmichael, Kathryn Hunter, Vicki Pepperdine, Margaret Qualley, Hanna Schygulla
The Nerds Templar 