Welcome to my new website! This is a destination for the bulk of my longest movie reviews, because I really do write a lot sometimes and Letterboxd can be quite clunky to read after a few extended paragraphs. For my first post, I actually have the first long review I ever wrote back at the very start of 2024. Of course I have amended it as my writing as improved, but having seen Bugonia just yesterday and while working on my review for that film, here is Poor Things to tide you over.
For some too intimately, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things expertly explores society’s obsession with innocence and virginity, balancing both the uncanny and profound, asking the viewer to embrace vulgarity, over new-age diplomacy.
This message is not delivered subtly, making the film much more on the nose than Lanthinimos’s usual works. He achieves his vision through a meticulously crafted world, juxtaposing our own society with a frankly insane array of architecture and outfits, completely overwhelming the senses. When paired with a stellar lead performance from Emma Stone and a nothing short of brilliant soundtrack from Jerskin Fendrix you certainly have one of the sight and sound experiences of the year.
With so many different angles toured, it makes sense that this could have only been a book adaptation, explaining the rigid structure which splits the film into different ‘acts’. This is particularly noticeable as Lanthinmos is usually also in a writing role, but was not involved in either the script or the novel in this case. In truth, the film comes off more of an anthology than a continued narrative, each new city Bella experiences suggesting completely seperate ideas from the last. This works massively in the movie’s favour, leaving you never bored, yet also never lost. While you may be briefly confused by the pig chickens or suggestive age gaps, you never find yourself misunderstanding the basic ideas. Lanthimos invites you to explore this world he’s created alongside Bella, instead of presenting you with his ideas of what the world is.
This almost voyeuristic perspective puts the film above the efforts of previous directors attempting to highlight the supposed cruelty of the world through a child’s eyes (a very tired trope). Poor Things conversely does not talk down on its audience through it’s protagonist, instead only presenting it’s world the way it is. What Lanthimos and Stone together continually emphasize, is Bella’s anbility to always assume the good in the world. That message speaks for itself, talking to misconstrued ideals of the perfect woman and her perfect way to live. These elements together illustrate a respect and an understanding of themes and messages of the source material, which few filmakers are able to display so openly. Lanthimos’s understanding of the most critical viewpoints which must be carried over from the book makes it that much easier to take certain creative liberties, without harming the integrity of the story.
It is not difficult to see that this is an absolute treat for your eyes, and that each frame was very carefully considered, as well as every individual costume, designed to invite the audience into the happenings of the film once again, through what Bella is witnessing. They frame the way she is seen within a mismatch of time periods to show the timeless persistence of the male gaze on the way women dress. Moreover, the overall miss-en-scene were quite clearly unconventional and perhaps risky, resulting in a completely unique look, after all when was the last time a fisheye lens was being used outside of faux 90’s rap videos.
The use of colour especially stands out- as before, inviting the audience in and highlighting the stark differences of one city to another. Given how far apart the ideas of each segment are from each other, Lanthimos’s consist vision shines through, spotlighting how much of our own society is absurd and concidental through this exaggeration of a different one. In the age of 3 hour blockbuster epics, to see a director take such care in trying to surprise the audience without overloading the film with unnecessary information, is a rarity.
The standout performance is quite easily Stones’ giving the Oscar voters a very tough time when it comes to choosing between herself and Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon, but on taking such an open role showing that she doesn’t need to be a glamorous awarded actress to tell a meaningful story. ’The ugly role’ is something that is talked about online when it comes to superstar actresses, the woman who is messy, breaking down and loud about it, the point in an actresses career when she allegedly becomes a ‘real actor’. While I dislike the idea that an actress needs to play crazy in order to become legitimate, it’s not hard to see why people think this is the pinnacle of a career. She leaves nothing to the imagination- literally and figuratively, pushing Lathinmos’ aforementioned ideology with both the maturity of a seasoned actress and the naive joy of a performer getting their big break.On a basic level, it’s a hard role. Pretending to be a baby in an adult body obviously feels wrong and is hard to pull off without going over the top. But Stone takes that idea and displays full commitment and then some. She physically embodies whatever developmental stage Bella is currently at, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Not once are you left thinking she did this for anything but investment in the story, displaying incredible emotion towards the end. She manages a meticulously thought through performance with many layers- while displaying simple-mindedness, leaving so many layers to unpack in the existence of Bella.
The last element to touch on, (which I adored the most) is the soundtrack. The cinema score is a crucial element to a full theatre going experience, therefore, it is often played safe. With the talented likes of John Williams and Hans Zimmer, and similarly standing peers very much active, it’s completely understandable most mainstream directors go in a more ‘cinematic’ direction but, this score. Fendrix has mastered the use of texture and space to create an eerie and curious score, that mirror Bella’s very existence. It is working to get you in into Bella’s shoes, utilizing utter chaos and unfamiliar instruments to evoke intrigue, as well as to further the uncanniness of it all. The sporadic volume changes only push this further, but also achieve the ambience and amplitude modern day scores are looking for. Funnily enough, it was the most well utilised during the most adult montages, designed to be grotesque, the music is very obnoxious and fast- the only time it is fast paced throughout the movie. While achieving a minimum goal of making these scenes seem much more intense, it guides the audience into how Bella may be feeling ain the moment- particularly in the vast difference between Bella the first time, versus when sex becomes her job. The latter is silent, designed to make you feel uncomfortable as she does, whereas the former is odd and sporadic, evoking that curiosity again.
I acknowledge this review has been extremely gushing- but this film is truly so deserving. There is however, good reason as to why this is such a divisive film. As I briefly touched on at the start, it is unrefined. Bellas creation is an entirely new form of twisted, not to mention her relationships. Any normal viewer will find a lot of Poor Things deeply unsettling, and for the first 30 minutes, I really struggled too. Yes, it can be odd to have all this misogyny towards the protagonist explored from the perspective of a male director and male writers, but I think to associate the characters views with the views of the creators is a complete injustice to the message being portrayed.
At the end of the day, I think art represents what you want it to represent, and so many people will leave Poor Things as a simple representation of the hold the male gaze has on society, as that is obviously present throughout the film, but there was undeniably a compelling vision on display, leaving it a solid contender for artistic achievement of the year.