REVIEW #337 Poor Things (2023)

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, Bella Baxter runs away with a wealthy lawyer and embarks on a wild journey of self discovery across the continents.

Poor Things satire comedy works brilliantly alongside the peculiar artistry that is the movies cinematography. The director Yorgos Lanthimos illustrates the toxicity of men in such an approachable and enjoyable way. The underlying themes of the film are actually really dark but Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter and her naivety to the world,  make those themes hilarious at times. Now, that wouldn’t be possible without the impressive performances from the entire cast, in particular Stone and Mark Ruffalo, who work really well together. I understand why Stone is in contention for the awards now, she illustrated incredible range in her acting ability, going in so many directions with just one role!

The movie does take some time to hit its stride though, with the first 20 minutes feeling quite slow, it was only when you sort of came to the realisation of why Bella was the way she was, that everything becomes clear and the humour really starts landing. I’ll add to that point by saying my main criticism, the film is a little too long for me. Every chapter does play a vital part in Bella’s character arc and it does come full circle nicely but I did find by the end of the movie it did begin to drag slightly. What surprised me was the abstract set designs that although were based on real places, seemed very fictional. Impressive, don’t get me wrong, but it certainly contributed to the ‘weirdness’ of the movie, which I really enjoyed. The musical score also contributed to that, a really unnerving score that would feel right at home in a horror film, super unsettling which was kind of representative of some of the uncomfortable plot points for Bella, breaking through the comedy to remind the audience of these aspects of the movie. Overall, I had a blast with it, weird as hell, kind of like Wes Anderson meets Ari Aster! 

Overall (8.5/10)

Thanks for reading,
Callan

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