One of very many films that seem to be catching the eye's of the cinema-going public in the build up to the 2024 Academy Awards is the latest chapter to the forever-intriguing and entertaining filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos, 'Poor Things'.
'Poor Things' could be described as a movie that has it's eggs in various baskets when it comes to depicting what genre it most associates itself with. Initially it starts off as a period piece, before lending itself to the world of comedy, it then dabbles in the sci-fi/fantasy arena before climaxing and proving that it deserves to be seen as a story of romance.
The story of 'Poor Things' is based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray of the same title. Before Lanthimos began working on this movie, there was yet to be any creative productions based on the story of 'Poor Things' other than original the novel itself.
If you are an audience member, thinking of purchasing a ticket to this film, with no prior experience of the worlds or characters that Lanthimos has built throughout his recent filmography, you will be shocked what you find throughout the course of this film.
Of course, the director has a very unique style of filmmaking, as seen in previous projects such as 'The Lobster', 'The Killing Of A Sacred Deer' and 'The Favourite'. This film is certainly no different as the filmmaker perfectly balances between the lines of what is reality and what is just down right strange and unusual.
One aspect of this film that refuses to go unmentioned is the career-best performance from Emma Stone. The American actress is tasked with the responsibility of bringing lead character, Bella Baxter, to life in this film, without a doubt her most advanced role in her career to date.
With the intentions of not giving too much away, Bella Baxter is a role that not only requires Stone to perform in a British dialect (seen once before under Lanthimos in 'The Favourite'), but also perform as though she possesses the mentality and knowledge of a newborn baby in the body of a 35-year-old woman.
We have seen Stone take on some demanding roles throughout her impressive acting career so far, but bringing the character of Bella Baxter to life is by far the deepest. Given this, Stone does an excellent job of portraying the character to the point where her performance will be remembered for generations to come.
I believe that throughout this story, Bella Baxter is a representation of everything that is pure and innocent in the world. After all, she is essentially a baby living in the body of an adult woman, therefore there are very little things that Bella could have done in her short lifetime to warrant her a guilty and evil conscience.
But throughout this film we see Bella grow and learn from the people she meets and the experiences she comes across. The exterior world that Bella has come to know is ultimately portrayed as a negative place by Yorgos Lanthimos in this movie, and throughout the story, Bella comes to the realisation that the world can in fact be perceived as a negative environment and that humans are the root cause of this.
Nevertheless, Bella does her best to attempt to implement her positive morals and good intentions onto the rest of the world that, as the film goes on, becomes portrayed as an evil place run by the people living on it.
One area that I would point out to some cinema-goers that are interested in purchasing a ticket to this film is the fact that it may be found too inaccessible by some audiences. Those portions of potential audiences that have read the 1992 novel that the film is based on, albeit small, will most likely have a great experience watching this movie.
However, those larger portions of potential audiences that are unaware of the existing story and are inexperienced in the filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos, may have a difficult time enjoying this film and following along with the key messages hidden within the storyline.
Although there are various messages underlying deep within this film, the the story of 'Poor Things' is essentially about personal transformation and breaking free from societal constraints. At the start of this film, Bella is seen as essentially what it says on the tin, an infant living in the body of a 35-year-old woman.
But as the story progresses, we really see Bella grow into an intelligent and independent woman to a point where the two women we see at both ends of the story are incomparable.
The term 'polite society' is thrown around a handful of times throughout this film, most of the time when other characters that associate themselves with Bella attempt to restrict her to certain characteristics and actions. However, Bella's lack of willingness to play along with the 'polite society' plays it's part as a message to the audience that breaking free from societal constraints should be encouraged more in today's modern world.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10