Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers: Tony McNamara, Alasdair Gray
Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe

In a fantastical world, Bella Baxter, who is brought to life through Frankenstein-ian means, embarks on a journey toward self-discovery through sex, philosophy, and liberation…

How interesting is it that Poor Things and Barbie came out in the same year? Surely others have remarked about the former being a sort of bizarre-o sexy, dreamlike companion piece to the latter, but the similarities are even more prominent than one might typically presume.

Both feature a naive female lead, flustered and awe-inspired by the world at large, forced to venture forth into the chaotic wasteland of reality outside the confines of their idealistic circumstances. In tow, they bring a male companion who is bewildered by them, often obsessed, and through this lens of obsession this companion becomes a hysterical, anguishing antagonist that aims to subvert the heroine back into a role of confinement.

Both of our leads heed the call to follow their own moralistic intuition, rebuke the confines of societal norms, and bolster their own existence with an acceptance of found family. Oh, but Poor Things has a lot of sex in it, so I suppose they are a bit different.

Poor Things is a visual feast that showcases this journey toward female enlightenment through a deeper contextual understanding of sexuality and exploitation. Bella’s growth from an adolescent-minded babe into a full-grown adult doesn’t simply come in the form of philosophical intrigue and fascination at the world, but rather how she physically interacts with such a world in order to appropriately establish the boundaries of high society. This journey in turn feels wholly original in every aspect, whether it be the steam-punk, gothic-inspired production and art design, the musical score that trills Bella’s wonderment only to grow heavier and more somber at her discovery of the more sinister machinations of the world at large, or the performances—namely Emma Stone who manages to cement Bella as the hallmark of her career.

Stone’s performance often acts as the catalyst through how the audience must question the world, the open door through which director Yorgos Lanthimos is allowed to introduce us to a societal landscape of lavish scenery in timeless wonder. But Stone’s ability to play, her commitment to the physical attributes as well as the earnest curiosity that makes Bella so charming, is the foremost reason for her rise to Academy Award frontrunner.

Lanthimos films often feature wily coyote-esque characters, daring to brave towards their desires with cartoonish earnestness, but here because Bella’s fundamental principles are so centralized, so specific, and so morally comprehensible, Poor Things managed to make for one of Lanthimos’s best and funniest works as the characters around her flounder to compete.

The justification of ‘it’s just the way the world works,’ that a half-assing father may give to a curious child cannot work on Bella, a full-formed woman in every respect but her mind, and thus characters often face-palm in anguish at her stubborn adherence to her own personal desires, or marvel at her delightful whimsy.

Poor Things is a strange film. It’s a film that often oscillates between showcases of visual flourishes—often opting to demonstrate its peculiar brand of world-building with something like Willem Dafoe burping in place of a conversation—and intense philosophical revelations about what it means to be alive.

Sexuality acts as the catalyst for Bella’s self-discovery, but much in the same way that many adolescents assume sex is the pinnacle of human existence only to lose their virginity and ask themselves, ‘And now what,’ Bella’s self-discovery takes shape in a richer, more nuanced light. But prudishness may keep many audiences from seeing the joys of Poor Things.

Perhaps more importantly, Poor Things relies heavily on its stylishness to such an extreme as to seem gratuitous at times. Its final third adds a sort of epilogue that tests Bella in what she has learned on her journey thus far, and though it allows for the always marvelous Christopher Abbott to showcase his talents, it feels as though this portion of the film adds no new information to Bella’s journey apart from her affirming what the audience has already understood of her.

These criticisms, while valid, do not negate Poor Things as being one of the most enjoyable experiences in cinema this year. For audiences with an open mind, Bella’s journey in meeting these disparate characters, these poor things, is a visual delight that offers a humanistic, moral, and philosophical narrative complimented by stunning work below the line and in front of the camera