Transparency item: A review provides an informed and opinionated critique. These informed critiques are published to make a recommendation to readers. This review is the opinion of the writer. Spoilers for “Poor Things” are mentioned in this article.
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is known for making outlandish, quirky films, and in his latest work “Poor Things,” he does just that. Adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel by the same name, “Poor Things” tells the unique story of a woman-turned-science experiment who must reacquaint her brain — and body — with the world.
The film takes place in a liminal version of Victorian-era London, though the steampunk, gothic landscapes and imaginative costuming make it difficult to nail the film down to any realistic time period. The film’s dreamlike imagery, avant-garde characters and quick-witted conversations take viewers on a surreal journey unlike anything seen on screen before.
A postmodern recreation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Lanthimos’ film features the beautiful and curious Bella Baxter, played by Emma Stone, and mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter, played by Willem Dafoe, who revives her dead body.
Godwin’s mad ingenuity leads him to teach anatomy by day and experiment with human and animal bodies by night.
The film opens in black and white as Bella startlingly falls off a bridge and into a river. In the following scenes, Dr. Godwin fishes her dead body from the water and begins operating on her brain. As Bella was pregnant when she died, Godwin decides to harvest the unborn infant’s brain as a replacement for her own.
After performing the procedure and shocking Bella’s new brain with a series of electromagnetic jolts, she resurrects — though when she wakes, she acts new and naive to the world, as a freshly born infant would.
With no recollection of her past life, Bella faces a fresh start. She slowly learns how to walk, stumbling around Godwin’s spacious home and laboratory and innocently picking up new words and expressions through their interactions.
Each day, Bella develops in the same way a child would. With her motor skills and linguistic capabilities constantly improving, she gains greater awareness of the world. She grows more curious about the fleshly desires she has and begins to experiment with her sensuality and body through sexual exploration.
Eventually, she becomes more difficult to manage for the aged Godwin alone, and he enlists the help of his student Max McCandles, played by Rami Youssef, to monitor and record Bella’s progress.
Max observes Bella and after some time, falls in love with her refreshing innocence. After receiving Godwin’s blessing, Max asks for her hand in marriage; Bella agrees haphazardly, without any awareness of her commitment.
However, Bella refuses to remain in the confines of Godwin’s mansion and decides to seek the outside world. When womanizing lawyer Duncan Wedderburn, played by Mark Ruffalo, visits Godwin’s estate to work on Bella and Max’s marriage documentation, he offers Bella a proposition to explore the world before settling down.
Bella, confounded by the notion of free will and intrigued by the mysterious Duncan, decides to leave London and join Duncan on his voyage across oceans to Lisbon, Alexandria and Paris.
Along the way, Bella broadens her horizons and learns more about the outside world – morally positive and negative, childlike and adult. As she explores cities across the world, the film takes on brighter hues and vivid imagery that starkly contrast with the black and white tones at the film’s beginning.
“Poor Things” reframes the famous Frankenstein story in a bold, new light with cinematic effects, funky costumes and dreamlike sets to accompany. The film adds an eccentric dimension to Lanthimos’ already unique cinematic repertoire. Similarly, Emma Stone’s complete dedication to the role of the enigmatic Bella clearly shows off her acting expertise and capability to gracefully handle unusual source material.
Audiences find themselves enchanted with the bright, bold world posed in “Poor Things,” viewing life with amazement and wonder through Bella’s fresh eyes. Although some critics argue against the necessity of the film’s overt sexual depictions, Lanthimos’ daring storytelling techniques uniquely allow audience members to explore all the adventures that accompany growing up in this world — again.
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Contact Emma Ibarra via email: emma.ibarra@pepperdine.edu
