REVIEW: Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo Shine in Award-Winning New Film Poor Things

Poor Things, starring Emma Stone (Bella Baxter) and Mark Ruffalo (Duncan Wedderburn), is a feminist take on a Young Frankenstein-esque story of a young woman who is brought back to life, Bella, who finds herself having the intellect of a child in the care of Godwin Baxter (William Dafoe), the scientist responsible for her unexpected “rebirth.”

We see Bella early on in the film, protected by Godwin within the confines of his massive urban estate, as she smashes dishes, acts out prematurely, and demands to see the outside world. Giving in to her rapidly progressive intellect, Bella matures right before our eyes; Godwin has no choice but to let Bella run off with his lawyer, whom he ironically brought to his home to draft a marriage contract between Bella and his assistant from the university. Godwin’s efforts to keep Bella contained are hijacked when Duncan Wedderburn pries upstairs to see what kind of woman would need such an illustrious arrangement.

Without knowing the true nature of what or who Bella is, Duncan sets off on a wanderlust adventure with a woman who has, at times, a witty intellect but deviates to an uneducated late teen, early twenty, obliviousness to the world that he seems to find enrapturing. What he doesn’t plan for is Bella’s growing thirst for knowledge, freedom, and identity that surpasses what he thinks is a woman who is sexually obsessed and uninhibited with him, which quickly turns hilariously south.

When Duncan feels he cannot control Bella wandering around various cities, he routinely passes out in his late 50s-early 60s, sexually exhausted frame in their hotel room; he kidnaps her in a trunk and opens it after already on the high seas.

While aboard, Bella runs into some very interesting intellectuals who take a liking to her, including Martha Von Kurtzroc, who introduces her to some very important emancipating required reading, as well as her travel companion Harry Astley, a gentleman who shows her the poor for the very first time. Gut-wrenched, Bella finds Duncan in a drunken state after winning at the cruise ship’s casino, and she gathers up the money to promote an act of charity on their behalf to somehow heal the world.

Her generosity is short-lived, as the money ends up in the wrong hands and has the couple booted from the cruise and stranded in the snow on the streets of Paris. I will say this: there’s a brothel, some eclairs, and cash swapped for one of the funniest scenes of the film, in my opinion, between Stone and Ruffalo. Their chemistry is electric, and you will find yourself lingering on every word between these two fantastic actors.

By the time Bella reaches Godwin from her journey, she is met with the unexpected: her real-life husband storms upon Godwin’s estate to claim her in part two of the film.

Bella dodges and weaves those who want to consume her throughout Poor Things. The film, at its core, shares a lot of messaging on what it is to be a woman pulled in many different directions: a desire to own Bella, like property, for sexual exploitation or patriarchal reasons, and her strength in reversing the game repeatedly, one hilarious male meltdown at a time. Emma Stone is brilliant as Bella and takes on a cornucopia of personalities to deliver an award-winning character.

Directed by and co-produced by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, The Lobster) and written by Academy Award nominee Tony McNamara (The Favourite), Poor Things is based on the novel by Alasdair Gray. The cast is rounded out by a flurry of talent, including Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles, Christopher Abbot as Alfie Blessington, Suzy Bemba as Toinette, Jerrod Carmichael as Harry Astley, Kathryn Hunter as Swiney, Vicki Pepperdine as Mrs. Prim, Margaret Qualley as Felicity, and Hanna Schygulla as Martha Von Kurtzroc.

The photography, score, costumes, hair, and makeup are exceptional. Director of Photography is Academy Award Nominee Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC (The Favourite, C’mon C’mon), with production designers that include James Price (Judy) and Shona Heath, and costume design by Holly Waddington (Lady Macbeth, War Horse). Hair, Make-up & Prosthetics were created by Academy Award Nominee Nadia Stacey (The Favourite, Cruella). Jerskin Fendrix composes the quirky original score; the editor is Academy Award Nominee Yorgos Mavropsaridis, ACE (The Favourite, The Lobster), and the set decorator is Zsuzsa Mihalek (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Watch the trailer below, and find ways to watch this extraordinary film here.