Poor Things Review

January 18, 2024 at 7:26pm
By Jason Stettner

This is an absolutely fascinating take on the whole classic tale of Frankenstein. It follows Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) in what is her absolutely best performance as she learns about life. It’s a simple concept, but in a way never really dove into quite like this. You get to essentially see the growth of a woman from a truly twisted perspective. How one approaches their sexual discovery and how that can be incorporated into growing as a person.

It’s a drab, sheltered world run by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) as this disfigured and experimented upon man takes care of Bella. He seeks a colleague, someone to work with. For a time this works, but for a beauty and wonder such as Bella this is limited. A special suitor comes along offering her the world, the place she wants to see. That’s where Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) comes into the picture with an incredibly well done in terms of acting, and generally hilarious character personality.

The two hit it off well transcending the grim imagery of the picture into one of colorful vibrancy and lots of sex. There is a lot, to the point where the whole concept of seeing all of Emma Stone became quite normalized. An interesting idea as you really though less of how intriguing that might be the more it came across as it really did normalize this type of imagery through the way the story had presented itself.

You were understanding why this was happening, and the way it was part of a natural element of learning. There are of course deeper aspects at play, perhaps some philosophical and the pacing is rather well done. That is of course until you reach the point where she’s working as to say, and from there on it sort of gets bogged down and drags which is a shame.

It may not necessarily initially grab you as something that may be cinematically gorgeous, but this film is striking. From the stunning costumes to the gorgeous set pieces that are always adjusting. It’s a surreal look at our world.

You may think initially that things are simplistic but alas the world becomes ever so vibrant and remarkable to take in. The design of this world is truly unique and ever so delightful. Pair that with again, great performances and a career best from Emma Stone and this really captures you within that world.

It’s not just dramatic elements though, the movie is genuinely hilarious at times. It makes good mocking notes and delivers on that almost the entire way through. Outside of that slowed latter bit however as I did mention which is more about reflection and then a sort of calming ending portion.

The Conclusion

Poor Things was by far the best film of the year offering the best performance Emma Stone has put to screen. It’s a remarkable showcase of talent truly taking us along this journey of a growing mind. It contains heavy sexual moments and themes throughout although as you take in more it really does seem like you’re just viewing a natural regular person going through a regular act.

It may sound odd describing it, but I want to get across that there’s more context here than just having sexual acts as a draw. It’s part of the character development and the story. It’s an entertaining film not only in making you think, but also in that it’s regularly hilarious. The cinematography is gorgeous, the sets are stunning and costumes marvelous.

Ruffalo really should have praise here as well, his character was a delight. It’s an amazing movie but it does get dragged down slightly as it progresses and really halts to a bit of a stall despite such strong momentum. I would have also liked to see more backbone or realism from Bella’s suitor, he felt incredibly out of place against every other performer here which was a shame.

Poor Things Review at Theather with Standard Viewing

Rating Overall: 9.0