Poor Things (2023)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Tony McNamara
Starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Rami Youssef
Release Date December 8th, 2023
Published November 28th, 2023
Poor Things is a desperately odd experience. The film stars Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a woman who died and was brought back to life through highly questionable science, by a mad scientist named Godwin 'God' Baxter. Having rescued Bella following her attempted suicide, Godwin Baxter has made her his daughter and is teaching her how to live again. Bella appears to have the mental age of a toddler as Godwin introduces her to one of his medical students and his newest assistant, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef).
It will be Max's job to chart the course of Bella's progress in learning to live again. In the process, Max will fall in love with Bella and invite her to be his bride. But, before the marriage can occur, Bella wants to see the world. She gets the chance to do just that when she meets a lawyer named Duncan Wedderburn, a caddish man who sweeps Bella off her feet and takes her around the world. He introduces her to sex, and she takes to the act with gusto and glee.
The trip has the effect of expanding Bella's interest in expanding her mind. She becomes an avid and eager reader and even takes to philosophy. This proves to be the downfall of Duncan who can't keep up with Bella's insatiable hungers for learning and for sex. While on a cruise, Bella makes new friends in Miss Prim (Vicki Pepperdine) and Harry Astley (Jerrod Carmichael), each of whom encourage Bella to keep studying and improving herself. Astley is the impetus for Bella to give away all of Duncan's money to the poor leading to the next chapter in her life, moving to Paris.
In Paris, Bella abandons Duncan and finds work in a Paris brothel. It sounds sexier than it truly is. Yorgos Lanthimos seems to be going out of his way to remove the mystery and excitement from sex. Bella still appreciates sex as an activity but sex with gross, smelly, ungainly men does become somewhat meaningless and mechanical for her. She eventually tries spicing things up by getting the men she sleeps with for money to open up a little and even bathe before coming to see her.
Click here for my review at Geeks.Media
