Review: Poor Things - Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone demonstrate why they are award-season favourites

I went into “Poor Things,” the latest film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, kind of expecting this could be something akin to “AI: Artificial Intelligence.” By that I mean a character that we meet with a childlike demeanour that learns to grow in a somewhat dystopian world. While perhaps not as family-friendly as “AI: Artificial Intelligence,” there is that similarity in regards to our protagonist's journey - just with less fish camera lens work and far, far less sexual content.

Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, the “Bride of Frankenstein” like creation of Willem Dafoe’s Dr Godwin Baxter, ably assisted by medical student Max McCandles, played by Ramy Youssef. It is Max’s job to analyse the growth of Bella, in which he comes to grow an attachment to her - leading to a marriage proposition that is scuppered when Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) “liberates” Bella and takes her with him to Lisbon and then Paris, where Bella learns about sex, the rich/poor divide and starts to mature into less of the “Poor Thing” of the film and book’s title. 

But the thing is - Bella had a previous life, and now with essentially a brand new personality and a brand new perspective on things, is Bella content with her previous life, one that perhaps led to her death in the first place?

The most striking thing about “Poor Things” is once again the cinematography and the detail in the set design. I enjoyed “The Favourite” because it sort of felt like a history lesson with peak-era MTV camerawork. The use of a fish lens in moments of the film suggests a distraction from what is going on, be it the sexual awakening of Bella with Duncan, or the realisation by Bella that things aren’t exactly fair outside the high-society life Duncan is so accustomed to. 

Mark Ruffalo as Duncan is fantastic, given that I never thought I’d watch a film he has a role in and genuinely dislike his character. Duncan paints himself as this liberator of this caged beauty that is completely new to the world - the old fish out of water routine - when in actuality, if you boil it all down, he’s a sex trafficker. Only he’s both the supplier and the one demanding, which makes it even better when Bella becomes sentient to his ways and starts to push back, even if at times she is unsure what she has done wrong. 

There is no filter on Bella to begin with, but as the film blossoms from the Mary Shelley-style black-and-white beginning to the saturated, almost “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” colour scheme when Bella arrives in Europe, so does the character herself. 

Emma Stone, well, deserves all the accolades she has already received, has been nominated for and, hopefully, is about to win during awards season 2024. Her portrayal of someone who has had their brain replaced with that of the child they were carrying is earnest to begin with and empowered later on managing to not overstep the concept of someone that childlike and innocent becoming this very intelligent, astute individual. 

There is a reason that she is considered a generational talent, and somehow Yorgos Lathimos only manages to bring the best out of her, considering her incredible performance in his previous film, “The Favourite.” It almost feels like the paring could be akin to Scorcese and De Niro or other celebrated director/acting combinations that have stood the test of time.

Is it quite graphic? Yes, that’s what you get with Lanthimos, who made his name with the dark comedy “Dogtooth,” and perhaps the movie does kind of run a little long, but with the breathtaking stage design and compelling performances from everyone on screen, it becomes worth the running time. This is, for me, Lanthimos’ most accessible, “mainstream” movie to date with a big budget and even bigger expectations. He’s already succeeded in the latter, I guess we’ll see after the opening weekend if he’ll achieve the former also.

“Poor Things” opens in UK cinemas today (January 12 2024)