The more I think about it, the more I’m amazed that Yorgos Lanthimos has become such a critical darling. His films are weird, offbeat and wild, but most of them have been highly acclaimed and the ones that I’ve seen I’ve ended up really appreciating. Whilst Dogtooth is still my favourite film of his, it has been great to see how Lanthimos has been able to utilise the greater resources that are now available to him to his advantage. With Poor Things, I think we’ve got to the most technically impressive film that Lanthimos has made, with this being one of his best films.
Taking place in Victorian London, the film focuses on Bella Baxter, a woman who was initially found dead by surgeon Godwin Baxter whilst she was pregnant, with her being brought back to life by placing her baby’s brain in her body. Godwin soon brings in medical student Max McCandles to watch over Bella, with McCandles soon falling in love with Bella and asking to marry her. Before the marriage can take place though, Bella leaves with lawyer Duncan Wedderburn to travel across Europe, exposing her to new ideas, philosophies and her own sexuality. As the film goes on we see the growth of Bella, seeing how she finds her own identity. There are a lot of fascinating themes to explore here, the main one being the nature of control and identity. It is clear that the majority of the men in the movie want to control Bella for themselves, not seeing her as a person but as a means to an end. From Godwin seeing Bella as an experiment to be studied to Duncan using her as a validation tool for himself, it demonstrates how, even with different aims, the nature of control is still at the forefront of men’s minds. It is striking that the more sympathetic men in the film are the ones who come to understand that Bella is her own person with her own thoughts, not a tool for men to validate themselves with. It also brings in ideas of the impact of emotion in experimentation, with Godwin being a victim of pretty horrific medical experiments when he was a kid, from a father who didn’t care for him at all, with him wanting to have that same detachment in his work with Bella, but clearly seeing Bella as a daughter. It creates a really interesting dynamic to the character, particularly in the second half of the film when he tries to recreate the work he did with Bella but without the same success as he doesn’t have the same emotional attachment in that instance.
The way sex and sexuality are presented is pretty refreshing for a big awards season film. In a lesser film, you would expect Bella to be scolded for wanting to explore her sexuality and eventually becoming a sex worker. Lanthimos and writer Tony McNamara are more intelligent than that though, seeing it as a step in Bella’s journey to discovering her identity. There is no sense of shame that is seen through Bella’s attitude towards sex, it being seen as a natural part of life, with the men who do see it as shameful clearly using that attitude as a means to try and control Bella. The other sex workers that Bella becomes friends with are presented in a friendly manner, there being a clear bond that develops and a sense of solidarity that we don’t see from most of the men in the film.
There are some parts of the film that I think could have been explored more, mainly a third act reveal over the previous life of Bella that I felt was pretty rushed and I think there should have been a few more bits between Bella, Godwin and McCandles at the end of the film, to bring their character arcs to a more satisfying end, but these are more personal issues that I had with the film.
The performances from everyone involved in the film are excellent throughout. Emma Stone gives probably the best performance in her career as Bella. It is a very difficult role to play, finding the right balance of showing someone who is finding her identity, demonstrating that Bella is an infant’s brain in a grown woman’s body, but Stone handles every part of it brilliantly. There is a bluntness and naivety that Stone brings to the earlier sections of the film, making it believable that she is experiencing the world for the first time, aided by the stiff movements that she has, fitting of someone who is starting to gain a better understanding of her limbs and how she moves. As the film goes on and Bella is exposed to more of the harsh reality of the world, Stone makes sure we understand how Bella develops, making plot beats like her wanting to give away large amounts of money to the poor and becoming a sex worker feel like natural places for the character to go. It is a difficult balancing act that needs to be done with this role but Stone handles every bit of it brilliantly. The other performers do a great job as well, with Willem Dafoe showing someone who is trying to hide his emotional attachment to Bella but clearly loves her as a daughter and the struggles in his mind balancing his detached scientific side from the more nurturing side he probably didn’t know he had. Mark Ruffalo meanwhile is hilarious throughout the film, creating a truly pathetic character who is only really appealing to Bella at the start as she has no other frame of reference for the world. As the film goes on, Ruffalo becomes more and more pathetic, creating some great bits of dark comedy. Ruffalo also understands there is a darkness that needs to be in his character through the control he wants over Bella and how he is willing to lash out when he doesn’t have that control, making him a more sinister character at points, even when he is at his most pathetic. Ramy Youseff is solid in the film, showing the growing love he develops for Bella, although I think there should have been some more scenes at the end between him and Stone to show how he has developed as a character. There’s some solid work from Hanna Schygulla and Jerrod Carmichael, who help develop Bella’s mind, with Schygulla showing someone who wants to expand Bella’s knowledge and Carmichael being a cynic who wants to expose the harshness of the world, without caring at first for the emotional damage inflicted, but is apologetic later on. There’s good work in the third act from Kathryn Hunter and Suzy Bemba, showing different aspects of sex work that creates a more rounded portrayal of that world, and there’s a suitably sinister performance from Christopher Abbott, who presents the darkest side of the themes of control. If there is a negative I have about the cast it’s that I found Margaret Qually to be really underutilised. She has some good comedic beats when she’s on screen, but she isn’t in the film long enough to have any real impact on the plot or other characters.
The technical side of the film is very impressive. Lanthimos makes great use of the artificiality of film to create unique environments for the film. You know that it is the Victorian period, but there is a bit of a steampunk element to everything to give it a distinctly offbeat sensibility, in keeping with the tone of the film. Each of the different locations Bella visits throughout the film has a distinct style to it, ensuring that there are new visual treats in pretty much every scene. This is aided by the excellent costume design and make-up work, which helps add to the world of the film. The use of the fisheye lens by Lanthimos also adds to the offbeat feel of the film, adding to the distinct visual style that is brought to the film. The music as well has this weird quality to it that doesn’t really sound natural, but which completely works for the tone of the film. It’s a score that I wouldn’t listen to in isolation, but without it the film would not be as strong.
Overall, I found Poor Things to be a really strong and intelligent film. I wasn’t sure what I would think about this when I sat down to watch it, but Lanthimos has crafted a funny and intelligent look at identity, sexuality and control, but one that would not have worked anywhere near as well as it did if it didn’t have such a strong performance from Emma Stone in it’s centre. Whilst there are some issues I had with the third act, in that there were character beats that needed a bit more time to develop, this is another great addition to Lanthimos’ catalogue.
My Rating: 4.5/5
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