"Poor Things: A Unique Tale of Fantasy and Emancipation"
"Poor Things" is a feminine take on the
Frankenstein story, based on the Scottish novel of the same name from 1992.
However, what Yorgos Lanthimos, acclaimed for films like "The
Lobster" and "The Favourite," creates is a language entirely his
own.
In essence, what Yorgos Lanthimos narrates in his film
"Poor Things" is repulsive, even cruel. Creatures like goats with
duck beaks, four-legged geese, and chickens with the face of a pug inhabit the
spacious Victorian house of Dr. Gordon Baxter, a physician who delights in
experimenting with living material. Yet, as he grows attached to his creations
and grants them freedom, this world takes on its own poetry.
Baxter's latest "creation" is Bella, a tall and
beautiful woman whose body houses the spirit of a small child. Bella must learn
to walk, talk, and navigate the late 19th-century society. Initially
indifferent to the attention of men, she discovers her sexual desire through an
apple, marking her departure from her childlike universe and the beginning of an
unconventional emancipation story.
The interactions between the increasingly self-assured
Bella, portrayed with wonderfully dry humor by Emma Stone, and her
self-absorbed, faded suitor, played by Mark Ruffalo, are lively and amusing.
Ruffalo willingly embraces the role of the cuckolded fool, while Willem Dafoe,
as Dr. Baxter, Bella's disfigured guardian referred to as "God,"
embodies his character with gentle zeal, almost making us forgive his cruel
experiments.
However, all eyes are on Emma Stone, who not only plays
Bella but also serves as a producer, actively involved in every decision. Stone
credits this involvement with enhancing her performance, and indeed, as Bella,
she is a force. She takes the space she needs to evolve from the awkward
child-woman into a confident adult. A woman unafraid to defy societal
expectations and do as she pleases.
At first glance, "Poor Things" appears to be a
modern Frankenstein tale. Yet, this film by the Greek exceptional director
offers much more. The evident joy in the performances, meticulously crafted set
design, delightful costumes, and the unique camerawork by Robby Ryan, who
elevates the fisheye lens to a principle – all of it is daring and precise,
wild and humorous – a singular intoxication of unrestrained imagination.