Poor Things – A Special Genre-Bending Experience

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things premiered earlier this year at the 80^th Venice Film Festival to glowing reviews and has received almost unanimous acclaim in the months since its premiere, and continues to grow by the day. The film is based on the popular novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray and tells the incredible tale of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman who is brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Goodwin Baxter (Dafoe). Determined and eager to see the world, Bella leaves her guardian’s care and runs off with debauched lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo) with whom she travels across continents. Lanthimos’s past films have been divisive to say the least and his signature style and directorial trademarks certainly don’t work for everyone. While Poor Things will undoubtedly be a little too out there, odd, and even weird for some, it is easily Lanthimos’s most accessible film to date and is among the finest films of the entire year.

Ever since it’s debut, the main talk of the town has revolved around Stone’s transformative performance as Bella, and after having seen the film it’s safe to say that she was more than worthy of all that hype, delivering what was arguably her best performance to date. Stepping outside her comfort zone, she fully commits to the physical demands of the character in a performance unlike anything she’s ever done before. Holding nothing back, Stone pours everything into Bella, pulling audiences in across her journey of understanding and appreciating her new world. While it is still a long way until the Oscars, it’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone other than Stone walking away with the Best Actress trophy. Meanwhile, she is backed up by an incredible supporting cast who each leave an impact regardless of the size of their roles, namely Ruffalo and Dafoe who are both shoe-ins for supporting actor nominations. Dr. Goodwin is a lot different than what he may seem on the surface but Dafoe is brilliant as always as he adds so many little subtleties that make him stand out from the typical mad scientist stereotype. Ruffalo has never been funnier and works well with Stone.

There’s just something truly special about Poor Things as it feels like a unique film that audiences have been starving for. It blends so many different genres together perfectly to the point of nearly becoming a new genre in and of itself. It’s a comedy, a fantasy, a coming-of-age story, a romance, and a period piece all wrapped into one, and there isn’t a single combination that could’ve executed and blended its eclectic mix of wildly different tones and genres more seamlessly than Lanthimos and screenwriter Tony McNamara, who deserves an equal amount of credit. A very funny movie with many big laughs throughout, what is sure to catch a lot of audiences off guard is how oddly heartfelt the story becomes without taking away its darker side that is very much present throughout.

It’s hard not to praise this film for how ambitious and weird it is, and its thought-provoking themes that one simply would not expect to see in a film like this. Likewise, on a technical level, it is pretty much perfect and should be worthy of a ton of tech nominations in the coming months. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, the costumes and productions design are impeccable, and it features one of the strongest scores of the year. Combined with Lanthimos’s brilliant direction, the result is a true one-of-a-kind experience with a creative world unlike any other. More accessible compared than much of his past work, the film is still appropriately kooky and bizarre in the best ways.

The only minor gripe with this otherwise tremendous film is its running time (clocking in near to the 2.5-hour mark) which could be attributed to certain sequences that are a bit too drawn out and repetitive. That being said, Poor Things is easily one of the best films of the year and one that is sure to be a major contender come this awards season in several categories. From the brilliant performances, to its amazing technical components, and ambitious story, it is an experience audience will not soon forget and is already shaping up to be among the best films of the 2020s.

still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/