Poor Things (2024)

 

Genre: Comedy/ Fantasy 

Time: 2h 21mins

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Quick Summary: The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.

I might have to try this working on one's self 

Honestly, I don't even know where to start with this film as it was such a wonderful and fantastical experience. I adored every single second of this. It's weird to its core unapologetically and I'm loving it. As an autistic woman, I have never related to a film so much, with the complexity of "polite society" and the nuances that come with people, the yearning to learn and experience new things all the time, our naivety getting the best of us when it comes to people who know how to use that to their advantage, frustration towards those people and the real upsetting world, people treating as children, how we like to learn about taboo subjects or indulge in them and honestly, this just portrays a wonderful tale about living life as a autistic woman (even if it wasn't supposed to be). This goes into many things like mentioned above, but to add this, to be silly and fuck around (literally), to have fun, to experience life be that good and bad things, go against social conditions and expectations of people, finding your purpose and what you enjoy in life. To be constantly learning, experiencing, and growing. 

Everyone, and I mean everyone acts wonderfully throughout this. Willem Defoe is my favourite weird old man. He is absolutely brilliant. A mix of fatherly love for his creation, willing to teach her about the world and a scientific curiosity towards her wanting to see how his experiment grows. To add this, he is acting under a ton of prospects to make him look extremely deformed, which honestly is so impressive to me. He is pretty cynical at the start, treating her just an experiment that only he can know about, before slowly then moving through various stages of being a parent and it's so wonderful to watch his character change to be more compassionate towards her. Mark Ruffalo, boy, have I met plenty of people like him. A sleazy womaniser who preys on the naivety of women. Honestly, it was pretty disgusting to watch him take advantage of a woman who is basically a child, manipulating and conditioning her to suit him so that he can get away with being a cunt. Gaslighting, acting out when she makes friends or when she begins to get a personality and have interests that don't suit his lifestyle. It was incredibly funny to watch as the more she experienced life and refused to be repressed by him, through choice/frustration towards him or sheer accident, the more he spiralled downwards as he realised he couldn't control her. He was absolutely hilarious to watch no matter what he was doing. 

Now, to the absolute star of the show. Emma Stone. If she doesn't win any awards for this I will throw hands with people. It is so impressive watching the same person act as if they were a small innocent child, slowly develop over time through people and books and life, and become an (almost) adult. You watch as the way she moves becomes more stable and less rigid, the way she is so childlike in her behaviour in the beginning,  her language becomes more complex but keeps her direct nature, and her fashion choices become more mature and honestly so pretty to look at. Though it is so devastating but yet inspiring to watch her experience the world fully. How she interacts with people, watch she does when she's faced with things/people that try and stop her, her thirst for life is so wonderful. Nothing stops her, she just keeps going, and keeps learning no matter how taboo or "unacceptable" is it, she wants to experience it, and she does it. She is hedonism embodied.  I honestly forgot I was watching Emma Stone act this person out, as really in my eyes, she brought this character to life. 

The score in this just complements every single scene, it mainly being very whimsical and dreamy. It is so unique, and it conveys exactly how you're supposed to feel, shows the pairing between two characters, or even just amplifies the bizarre nature of this film. To go with this, the fashion. Man, the Fashion. It's like they allowed a child to run high couture, but it works. The clothing is very out there, colourful and strange, but it's so beautiful. It fits right in with this world. Extravagant dresses full of frills and odd statement pieces, or quirky little accessories. The whole aesthetic of this film is so wonderful to look at. 

So much of this film was actually hilarious. It is filled to the brim with funny one-liners said by various characters, awkward or embarrassing scenarios, reactions, or just Bella being herself. It's unapologetically upfront with everything that we shy away from. You get glorious moments where Bella, being frustrated with how much noise a baby is making, gets up to go to it stating she was going to go punch it. Or that after she sells herself for money, she laughs about how long the guy lasts all whilst not realising it was enraging the other person. Yes, this humour is an acquired taste and not for everyone, but for those who do love stuff like this, you will find this as hilarious as I did. 

I adored how this film looked. Especially with the cinematography. The beginning is all shot in black and white, which shows that Bella has not yet learnt life, and has a lot of fish eye captures where the image is slightly warped. This is a pure work of art, in the weirdest, most bizarre way possible. The visual style of this matches the pure absurd nature of the film, through the set, the costumes, and the shots. It's trippy at times. I did honestly love the title cards for each segment of the film, throwing in a strange cosmic horror design element in the mix. The whole film feels like a dream captured like a painting.

To warn you, there is a lot of sex in this. Unfiltered, full-on, and sometimes awkward. It shows many different forms of it too, and the scenarios that can lead to it. They can be uncomfortable to watch at times, but honestly, it's an important part of the story. Parts of Bella's exploring are used through her sexuality, be it she's using it to learn or someone is reacting towards her because she used it. To add to this, a lot of this film can be awkward and uncomfortable to watch, so it might not be something everyone can watch.

I loved every single second of this film and I honestly hope this will be considered a classic in the years to come by. It's a bizarre masterpiece and I'm so glad I was able to experience it. It screams feminism, a lust for life, and a celebration for all of us weirdos out there. 

Additional thoughts from my partner: 

A visually stunning take on a world that mixed science and religion into a very warped and weird blend that I found very enjoyable to just look at let alone watch as a movie.

Bella was fascinating as a character/experiment as you watch her character grow from childlike to simply naive of the world and to have her own thoughts and inputs on rather serious subject matters that are very much a thing in our own world, she is subjected to a kind of mental abuse for a lot of the film but it forces her to grow into a very stout, resolute and clever women who isn't afraid to say what she really thinks

10/10

"My father once told me, "Always carve with compassion." He was a fucking idiot, but it's not bad advice."

"I am finding being alive fascinating"

"Wedderburn became much weepy and swearing when he discovered my whoring."

"We must experience everything, not just the good but degradation. Horror. Sadness. Then we can know the world. And when we know the world, the world is ours. This makes us whole."