Review: Poor Things

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Official synopsis: The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone); a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter. (Willem DaFoe)

Yorgos Lanthimos is a director that I'm always eager to see. His work is just so...weird. This might be his most visually stunning film yet. It's fantastical, it almost reminded me of something Tim Burton would do. It perfectly fits with the tone of the story.

We see Bella Baxter essentially come into womanhood. Learning about her body, what she likes, how to use it. It's a very sexually liberating film. I had to admit I was surprised just how much sex and nudity there was in the film, but it all makes sense for the character.

Emma Stone gives the best performance of her career as Bella. We meet her when she can barely speak and leave her a strong and articulate woman. She's a great character to follow. Mark Ruffalo is hysterical as her flighty suitor. I forget just how great his comedic timing is. His character is such a brat, and I love how he played them. I can't say enough about the cast in general. All were wonderful.

While I enjoyed being in this world and following Bella, I did feel the hefty runtime on this. It slows considerably once we get into the second half, and when a new character was introduced very late into the film, it almost feels like it's going to be too much.

I had high expectations for this and I'm happy to find a well crafted and fun film in Poor Things. It was worth what felt like the longest wait. 

Grade: B+

Comments

  1. thevoid99January 2, 2024 at 3:48 PM

    I love this film. So far, it's my favorite film by Lanthimos and I think this is Stone's best performance to date. I love the journey her character goes through while I had no issues with the run time. Even in the third act when that one character appears as it made me realize what Willem Dafoe's character had done and it was worth it. I love the ending the most as it's a great film with one hell of an ensemble cast. I await for what Lanthimos and Stone will do next as it's likely coming late in the year.

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 2, 2024 at 7:45 PM

      Oh yeah! My husband thought we should've seen more of that character before he showed up and for me I thought we saw enough. I did not need more of that dude lol. Loved Carmichael and Ramy having those parts too. They're both so funny.

      Delete
  2. RuthJanuary 7, 2024 at 6:36 PM

    I finally just saw this over the weekend and I actually LOVED it, which it a surprise to me as I really wasn't sure how I'd feel about it given how weird it is and the ridiculous amount of nudity (a lot of them are unnecessary IMHO). I'm hoping to finish my review later this week but yes, it's worth the wait for me!

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 8, 2024 at 11:16 AM

      Yeah, I think there could've been a few different angles some of them were shot from for sure. I'm glad it was also worth the wait!

      Delete

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