Poor Things

By Joanna Langfield

Yorgos Lanthimos’s newest is a lot of (very good) things. And it is, at its best, a trip. But like a lot of trips, it can also be pretty exhausting.

Emma Stone stars as a young woman brought back to life by a brilliant Victorian era scientist (a terrific Willem Dafoe). Housebound and all too sheltered, the Frankenstein-esque Bella clomps around, expressing her innate fury throwing china and screaming undistinguishable words. Not willing to settle for the milquetoast suitor her designer/father has arranged for her, Bella, insists on leaving the womb, as it were, to travel with the could be irresistible Mark Ruffalo. Who could blame her? He’s perfect as a not so perfect guy.

We’ve seen the dynamics of this in many previous reincarnations, with everything from My Fair Lady to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Leave it to Lanthimos to put his own, personal stamp on it. Everything is full throttle, from the gorgeous Art Deco design to the sexual awakening Bella gives and takes. It’s admirable, but I only admired it from afar until the very end, where at long last, some heart bobs to the surface.

Is Stone great in this role? Well, she’s certainly game. I have seen others call her ‘brave’. And yes, she is called upon to do some not so pretty stuff. Which she, gamely, does. I think just about every artist, even the ones who play it seemingly safe, is brave, some more than others, I’ll admit. But to hail her committed work here as ‘brave’ feels shallow, applauding her gumption, not result.

The same can be said for Lanthimos. I once asked a very talented theater director how he came up with the fresh perspective he was known for. “It’s just the way I think”, he said. This director’s thinking may not be for everybody, but it’s insistently his own. And cinema is all the better for that.