Poor Things popped onto my radar when I saw someone on Twitter describe it as “Arthouse Frankenhooker”. Incredibly enough, that’s a pretty spot-on description. This has got to be one of the dirtiest, sexiest Oscar-bait movies in some time.
Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, the undead, baby-brained creation of mad scientist Godwin (Willem Dafoe). As she slowly improves her speech and motor skills, a funny thing happens: She becomes sexually aware. Big time. After being promised to Godwin’s meek assistant (Ramy Youssef), she is charmed away by a smooth-talking lawyer (Mark Ruffalo), who basically just wants to bang her. Soon enough, he learns he is unable to keep her fulfilled, and she goes off on a quest of sexual self-discovery.
By having Stone’s character having a newborn’s grasp on sexuality, gender politics, and the war of the sexes, it enables director Yorgos Lanthimos to shove a lot of social commentary into the mix without being (overtly) on the nose about it. It helps that the film is frequently hilarious, and that Stone has no qualms whatsoever about dropping her panties at a moment’s notice.
This is one fearless performance. Stone throws herself headlong into the role and embraces the character’s childlike sense of wonder. Her many nude and sex scenes are eye popping to say the least, and her enthusiasm for doing the deed (which she calls “furious jumping”) is admirable. Dafoe, looking and sounding like a cross between Scrooge McDuck and Marv from Sin City, is quite good as her godlike father figure. Ruffalo is a hoot as the pathetic lothario who acts like a mix of Charlie Chaplin, Pepe Le Pew, and Hercules Poirot.
The world building and set design is also delightful. The film often looks like a Dr. Seuss version of a Harlequin romance novel. The costumes are something else too, and Stone looks terrific in and out of her many kooky outfits.
Oh, and was it just me, or is Poor Things just Barbie in reverse? Except… you know… With a lot more boobs?
Essentially, it’s about a human doll who learns she has a vagina, leaves a world dominated by men, has to deal with an annoying boyfriend, is confronted by the struggles of the real world, goes on an existential journey of discovery, and comes to her dream house dominated by women. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. Boobs.
In short, Poor Things is one of the weirdest, wildest, and sexiest films of the year.
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