Poor Things
★★★★
Whether your initial response to Poor Things is visceral or in disgust, it's a film that you won't soon forget. If you have been enveloped in Yorgos Lanthimos's worlds before, this will come as no surprise. He is a master of taking what is familiar and completely contextualizing it in a whole new way. He's always been a master of using different lenses and camera movements to tell his stories, and once again, I found his style in Poor Things captivating but never overused. He has now incorporated the heavy use of special effects and finds a delicate balance to bring wonder to his world without forgetting pivotal themes.
I'm sure much has been made about the fact Bella (Emma Stone) and Greta Gerwig's Barbie are not so dissimilar. It's fascinating that both of these films came out in the same year and are a celebration of women's empowerment. Both characters find themselves being forced by men to mold to how they see fit, and both revolt in unconventional ways. Sex isn't even a thing that Barbie comprehends while Bella embraces the exploration to shocking lengths. Yet, both find power in their independence.
It's clichéd to say that an Oscar performance is brave, but Stone throws herself completely into the developing Bella. Her transformation throughout the film is so subtle that you are taken aback by the little things that you didn't notice in her performance. You can tell that all the other actors, as well, love playing in Lanthimos's bizarre atmosphere of comedy and horror. Willem Dafoe was tailormade to be in this film and the performances from Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef are delightful. I've always liked Ruffalo, but his reactions in this movie have taken him to a whole new level in my mind.
I've been a champion for Lanthimos ever since I saw his breakout film, Dogtooth. And like his other films, I was immediately captivated by his take on creation, purpose and class systems. But, this is one of the few times where my attention started to wane as the film progressed. I still appreciated what was being put in front of me, but before the film got to its third act, I was content with what was trying to be conveyed. Poor Things tends to wear out its welcome, but in the same breath, I feel like much would be gained from viewing it a second time. Once the shock and awe wear out, there is a lot of philosophy to mine underneath the duck-dogs and clever vocabulary.
