‘I must go punch that baby…’
It must be heartbreaking for filmmakers such as Wes Anderson and Tim Burton to so flagrantly strain after eccentricity only to see themselves rendered so ordinary in comparison to Yorgos Lanthimos and Poor Things. The Greek filmmaker is not even most renowned for his visual palette, indeed he is better known for his black humour and stilted dialogue, and yet the moments of steampunk aesthetic splendour that he conjures up here are often spellbinding. Luckily, the rest of the film is just as masterful…
Dr. Godwin Baxter (a grizzled and deformed Willem Dafoe) is a brilliant if erratic surgeon who produces his own Frankenstein’s monster in the shape of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) – a woman brought back to life after jumping from a bridge. Godwin, or simply ‘God’ as his creation refers to him, hires Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to monitor Bella and keep her from harm’s way. Poor Things charts Bella’s odyssey from genesis to fully formed woman with numerous sexual awakenings in between (often inspired by Mark Ruffalo’s ‘rake’ and ‘cad’ – Duncan Wedderburn).
I must begin with Emma Stone. She should be awarded Best Actress at this year’s Oscars. And next year’s. Throw in the Nobel Peace Prize and a Bronze Swimming Certificate as well. This is a performance for the ages – stunning in its physicality, vulnerability and comic timing. It’s a heady mix and while the supporting cast brings plenty to the table, this will forever be remembered as Stone’s film. Bella Baxter is one of the most compelling cinematic creations in recent memory and yet it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing this role with such commitment, such guts, such balls — a true joy.
Once again, Lanthimos forces the viewer to confront issues around gender, sexual politics, coercion and everything else in between without ever delivering a sermon or beating the audience over the head. This a layered film riddled with nuance and complexity that will be puzzled over in film studies classes for years to come, and yet it can also be enjoyed on one very simple level – as a film about a woman who discovers how terrible and exquisite it is to live.
As I write this we are only halfway through January 2024 and we might have already had the film of the year. An instant masterpiece.