Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 142 mins

Poor Things is a science fiction romantic comedy by Yorgos Lanthimos, who’s had an impressive career so far. Dogtooth was my first introduction to the fiercely original director and he went on to hone his craft with The Lobster, which was terrific and the even-better The Killing of a Sacred Deer. I wasn’t so hot on The Favourite, which garnered ten Oscar nominations, with Olivia Colman picking up the Best Actress gong. Whilst there’s no doubt it was also bawdily original, it was the first film to not be written by Lanthimos and it showed, lacking his signature arch dialogue. 

Poor Things is an adaptation of the 1992 Alasdair Gray novel, a Frankensteinian tale of a woman, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), whose brain has been replaced by that of her unborn baby, giving her a child-like mind, by the eccentric surgeon Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Like a child, Bella’s brain rapidly develops and becomes more physically and mentally agile. One of Godwin’s students Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) quickly falls in love with her and Bella accepts his hand in marriage but then soon runs off with debauched lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) on a grand journey around Europe. 

Poor Things is Lanthimos back on track with a brilliantly twisted, uncomfortable yet multi-layered triumph. There’s so much going on here, both from a thematic and visual standpoint and it’ll take multiple rewatches to fully understand its message but it’s a film that gets better on each viewing. Lanthimos recaptures his bizarre yet oddly moving tone, which is what made his earlier efforts really shine, combined with lavish yet evocative production design. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is a career-best, with every frame a painting worth pausing to analyse, which is interesting considering some of his work can be quite vanilla. The film boldly experiments with colour and perspectives are often shot through a fish-eye lens and it’s supported by the lavish production design. I also loved the retrofuturistic vision, with the Victorian London setting contrasting with succeeding elements.

The script by Tony McNamara is witty and sharp, with many laugh-out-loud and quotable moments, although it does somewhat lack the arch nature of Lanthimos’ writing. There will always be a part of me that wonders what could have been if Lanthimos had contributed. 

Emma Stone turns in a career-best performance as the Frankenstein-like Bella Baxter, who opens the film as an inquisitive and brash child and ends as a self-made woman. I’ve sometimes struggled with her performances in the past and couldn’t believe she won the Best Actress Oscar for La La Land but not so here. Willem Dafoe is also reliably brilliant as the eccentric surgeon, who has to belch bubbles at the dinner table due to a health condition. Mark Ruffalo provides much of the comic relief as Wedderburn, who becomes increasingly child-like as the film progresses, although his British accent is rather wandery.

Jerskin Fendrix’s score is terrific and deeply effective, in keeping with the film’s bizarre tone yet crescendoing at key moments. It’s one of the most original works I’ve heard in a while and is fully deserving of its Awards praise. 

Poor Things is an absolute riot and packed full of details to analyse on further viewings. It’s Lanthimos on top form and stuns with its distinctive performances, script, visuals and score. The Killing of a Sacred Deer remains his best work, in my opinion, but Poor Things is fully deserving of its praise and is a sensational experience to begin the year.