It may seem strange to describe any part of Poor Things as conventional. This bold and highly imaginative fantasy is the eighth feature film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, a 21st-century auteur who has made a name for himself with his dark humor and his ability to make macabre and grotesque stories look beautiful. Lanthimos doesn’t deviate from his signature style in Poor Things, a four-time Oscar-winner that boasts an absolutely wacky production design and (at times) very upsetting subject matter. But the underlying structure that supports all the unconventional elements (and the thing that makes Poor Things so gloriously hopeful) is a surprisingly conventional plot map with a tried-and-true storybook hero who has been all dolled up in Lanthimos fashion. Despite all odds, the hero, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), transforms, triumphs, and lives out her hero’s destiny in a remarkable way. Poor Things is undeniably unique, and it works because it is also undeniably familiar.
L-R: Emma Stone as Bella Baxter and Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn in POOR THINGS. Photo by Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
Bella Baxter was created by a Frankenstein-esque doctor, Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who brought her to life in a horrifying and inhumane experiment. She begins her existence in a state of childlike innocence, forming a father/daughter relationship with Godwin (whom she unironically calls “God”) as she gets used to her body and experiences the world for the first time. Godwin hires one of his medical students, the sweet and soft-spoken Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), to assist him with Bella and document her progress. Although Bella is mentally still a child, Max develops an affection for her. Godwin soon creates a plan for the two to get married, but Bella has other ideas. When she meets a pompous and utterly ridiculous lawyer named Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), she is completely taken in by his knowledge of the outside world (not to mention, his knowledge of the female body). It doesn’t take much convincing for her to agree to run away with him. Duncan assumes that he’s made another easy conquest, but he has no idea what he’s gotten himself into with Bella Baxter. Eager to learn and experience everything, and completely unaware of the rules of polite society, Bella takes their adventure into her own hands.
During her adventures, Bella discovers a world full of delicious food, interesting and intellectual people, books to read, languages to learn, and seemingly endless time to fulfill her voracious sexual appetite with Duncan. In her words, the world is “nothing but sugar and violence.” Bella’s journey is one of wonder, delight, horror, and absurdity; and Lanthimos creates a world to match. Poor Things is a vibrant circus of oddities made up of a delicious blend of Victorian, gothic, and steam-punk styles. This Wonka-esque version of Europe is full of all kinds of curious contraptions: motorized carriages with horse heads attached to the front, little cars on cables that transport passengers through the air like ski-lifts, and a medical device that helps Godwin digest his food and causes him to belch out brown bubbles in an ogre-like fashion. It’s a world made up of bright colors and exaggerated shapes and sizes (see Bella’s gigantic sleeves), all accompanied by a harsh, springy, and drunken-sounding score by first-time composer Jerskin Fendrix.
A scene from POOR THINGS. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan (who also worked with Lanthimos on The Favorite) stylizes the film with a black-and-white opening act (changing to color upon the start of Bella’s adventure with Duncan) and with frequent use of the fisheye lens. At first, the fisheye lens is distracting, mostly because it’s so rarely used in films and we’re not used to seeing it. But as the film goes on, this unique cinematographic style starts to blend in quite nicely. While it’s a tad bit pretentious, the fisheye lens fits the overall style of Poor Things and enhances the already exaggerated angles and shapes. It reminds us of our place as spectators, positioning the characters as specimens under a microscope or strangers on the other side of a door. If nothing else, it reminds us that the story we’re watching is a fantasy and a fable, purposely exaggerated and distorted to teach us lessons about subtle injustices in the real world. In fact, the elaborate visuals and unconventional cinematography actually make it easier for us to take Poor Things seriously. Without getting into spoilers, the details of Godwin’s experiment and of Bella’s life are so disturbing and bizarre that it makes sense to place the story in a highly stylized and clearly fictional world. Bella’s existence makes sense in this bizarre world, and her life takes on a kind of beauty that might be lost on us if her story had taken place in a more realistic setting.
Despite the strange and uncomfortable details of the story, Poor Things actually follows a very comfortable and familiar plot structure: the hero’s journey. This tried-and-true template has provided the underlying narrative structure for every great adventure story from The Odyssey to Star Wars (1977), and it serves Poor Things well. In its most basic form, this template outlines the story of a hero who experiences a call to adventure, a crossing into the unknown, a series of tests, a return home, and a final trial and “resurrection.” This structure literally brings the hero full-circle, trying and testing them in order to transform them into something great. The familiarity of this plot makes a wacky movie like Poor Things a lot easier to digest and appreciate. It positions Bella, who can be annoyingly childlike and selfish at times, as a fully dynamic and human character who overcomes her flaws in a realistic way. It feels right, and it just makes sense.
Center: Emma Stone on the set of POOR THINGS. Photo by Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
The engines running this templated and highly effective plot are four delightful characters whose strengths and flaws pit them against each other in the most hilarious and heartwarming ways. There’s Bella, whose childlike mind and adult body put her in a unique situation. At times, she approaches the world like a toddler, throwing tantrums and asking endless questions. At other times, she approaches the world like an adult who has simply never experienced life with other humans before. When Duncan gets upset upon learning that Bella has been seeing other men, she can’t figure out why he’s so emotional (the idea of a romantic attachment is completely foreign to her). Bella is driven purely by selfish instinct and scientific reasoning (which she learned from Godwin), which makes it difficult for her to see the logic behind human relationships. And yet, despite her drive to question everything, Bella still develops into a morally grounded and good person. Through a series of heartfelt and hilarious adventures, Bella questions and criticizes everything all while forming a strong moral compass. She doesn’t just conform or reluctantly accept the rules, but discovers through her own reasoning that living in harmony with others is truly the best way to live. It’s a genuinely hopeful and uplifting message. Emma Stone (The Favourite; La La Land) has a firm handle on this transformation, making slow and subtle changes while creating a distinct personality that she maintains throughout all the phases of Bella’s journey (not to mention, she’s absolutely hilarious in the role).
Then, there’s her great creator, Godwin, who isn’t necessarily bad or evil, but simply acting on his duty to science and knowledge above all else. His relationship with Bella is flawed, but repairable, and it’s extremely refreshing to watch this highly problematic father/daughter and creator/creation relationship evolve as Bella grows. Godwin’s assistant, Max McCandles, doesn’t develop as much as Bella and Godwin do, but his kindness serves as the moral heart of the film and contrasts nicely with Bella’s obsession with logic and rational thinking. Rounding out the main cast is Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac) as Duncan Wedderburn, who is perhaps the most exaggerated and least realistic character of all. Like Max, he doesn’t experience much growth throughout the film. Instead, he serves as a foil to Bella and an absolute clown. Ruffalo isn’t the obvious choice for this comedic role, but he was certainly the right one.
L-R: Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles and Willem Dafoe as Godwin Baxter in POOR THINGS. Photo by Yorgos Lanthimos. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.© 2023 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
One curious thing about Duncan is that he follows a traditionally “feminine” path in the story, driven to madness by unrequited love. While mad women forever roam the halls of Victorian and Gothic literature, Duncan is the one who ends up in a padded room (for a time) in Poor Things. Max also falls into a more feminine literary category. Even though he’s a scientist and a medical student, he takes on the role of the “angel in the house” that women and mother figures often played in Victorian culture and literature. He is the soft-spoken, polite, and darling little figure who creates a warm and loving home for the hero to return to, helping Bella find her moral center.
At first, it may seem like Poor Things is simply flipping transitional gender roles, allowing Bella to go off and do whatever (and whomever) she wants while the men in her life sit at home and wait for her to return and want them again. But it’s not quite that simple. Poor Things isn’t so much about Bella’s wild ambitions and desires as it is about her freedom to explore those desires and decide for herself what her life will look like. Poor Things celebrates the freedom of choice and the beauty of learning your own lessons through experience. Bella doesn’t represent what all women want, but she does represent what many women need: the power to choose and think for themselves. With that power, Bella becomes immune to masculine abuse. Despite the fact that she is literally the product of a man’s sick experiment (which she had no control over), Bella has total control over every other aspect of her life. When she decides to run away with Duncan, Max is naturally fearful, assuming that the devious lawyer will take advantage of her. Try as he might, however, Duncan can’t do anything to put Bella in the position of a victim. Despite her naivety, she is never hurt by Duncan’s abuses. She’s not affected by name-calling, abusive language, or jealous accusations. When he puts her on a boat to stop her from getting out and seeing other men, for example, she makes friends on the ship who teach her about philosophy, undermining Duncan’s plan to control her education and development. Her patriarchal immunity is purely a fantasy, of course, since standing up to men isn’t that simple. But it’s nice to watch. It’s refreshing, hopeful, and inspiring to watch a woman dodge abusive behavior over and over again, essentially saying to the men in her life with every move and breath, “You can’t hurt me.” Her strength and confidence are fierce and contagious. Poor Things envisions a beautiful and glorious life in which women like Bella can author their own messy and wild adventures and return home, like every other great protagonist, as heroes.
Poor Things Special Features:*
- Possessing Beauty – The Making of Poor Things: Join Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, cast and crew in the making of this fantastical film. Explore the costumes, makeup and prosthetics in detail. Take a tour with Willem Dafoe and see how Godwin and Bella’s home mirrors and accommodates them both.
- Three (3) Deleted Things
*Bonus features vary by product and retailer
Available on digital February 27th, 2024.
Available on Disney+ and Hulu March 7th, 2024.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD March 12th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Searchlight Pictures Poor Things webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
Leave a Reply