Film Review: Poor Things

 The latest offering from director Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things riffs on the Frankenstein myth and is unflinching in its depiction of everything and that is the point. It concerns a woman called Bella Baxter who, though fully grown, appears as a blank slate when we first see her behaving like a baby. We accompany her as she develops, learns and eventually matures taking a journey through all the stages of life in a relatively short time. Her gauche behaviour evolves over time though she never loses her directness. It’s a story whose style takes some getting used to with a nagging sense that behind the impressive window dressing there is less substance to the fantasy than its creators would suggest but it is definitely a unique film to watch.

 

Bella’s creator Godwin Baxter (see what they did with the name?) is a renowned and somewhat unorthodox surgeon whose face bears the bizarre results of his own father’s own experiments. The origins of Bella’s story and how she was transformed mark one of several moments when the film will make you grimace. Godwin’s aim is to study human development at the accelerated rate it will happen in this instance but Bella is hard work. When we meet her, she is basically an adult sized baby causing chaos within the confines of their ornate home.

To attempt to help educate and control Bella, he introduces a promising student Max McCandles who falls for her despite his awareness of her odd history. In fact he proves to be the weak link in this story- a character so wet and submissive he will put up with Bella leaving in the arms of lothario lawyer Duncan Wedderbern. The latter promises to fulfil her hunger for sensual (and sexual) experience as he whisks her round the world. Along the way she gradually develops, learns and matures to an extent though though she never loses her directness.

It’s a bizarre story delivered with singular vision showing a world a few steps removed from reality in which airships roam the skies, ships are adorned with castle ramparts and cars are shaped like carriages with horse’s heads at the front. Partly shot in monochrome, some moments employ a fisheye lens for close ups, other are broad and vividly coloured like paintings brought to life.

This bold aesthetic is matched by broad performances in which the actors are unleashed to be as extreme as the text demands. Emma Stone delivers a complex and often funny performance as Bella, a tour de force which must surely be up for a lot of awards. Her subtle development in both speech and movement is impressive. Mark Ruffalo is excellent too as Duncan’s proximity to Bella seems to send him into a regressive spiral while as Godwin Willem Defoe allows humanity to seep through a frightening visage.

Poor Things would be a masterpiece if, unlike Bella, it was able to curb its extremes. Sometimes the visual motifs are distracting and feel consciously eccentric taking the focus from the story. While the narrative purports to show the stages of life it is unclear what message it is providing and the means by which it does so seem designed to irritate some viewers. Also, for me, the run time is overlong with what seems to be an extra story stitched on when the film had already reached a conclusion. This late period sag  causes the behavioural tics outstay their welcome and  the eccentricities curdle. Nonetheless it is an admirable achievement to create such a distinctive film.