When I first watched the coming-of-age teen comedy Superbad in 2008, I was immediately won over to Emma Stone as Jules, the object of Jonah Hill’s affection. As the years passed and she released hit after hit (Zomebieland, Easy A, and The Amazing Spider-Man), I knew she would have a successful career as the new “it” comedy girl ranking alongside comediennes such as Gilda Radner, Carol Burnett, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I also have had a crush on her ever since. However, I did not anticipate her taking home, not one, but TWO Academy Awards for Best Leading Actress within the next fifteen years.
I expected the Oscar for Best Actress to go to Lily Gladstone for her unforgettable performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. But when the honor went to Stone, I knew that I would need to screen Poor Things. I just had to see what it was that Stone had over Gladstone.
I was able to find Poor Things available for streaming via my Hulu subscription. While I have often lamented the almost immediate availability to stream recent releases alongside the theatrical release, I must concede I was grateful to have watched this film from the comfort of my own home, where I had the option to turn on subtitles (which can totally change the movie-watching experience) and even rewind to rewatch something I did not immediately understand. Poor Things takes a surreal fantasy approach to science-fiction. Set in Europe during the Victorian era, many liberties have been taken to provide certain technologies to the characters that were not historically available.
When the eccentric, mutilated surgeon Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe) discovers the body of a pregnant woman who attempted suicide by jumping from a bridge, he takes an unorthodox approach of transplanting the brain of the unborn baby into the head of the mother, resulting in a Frankenstein-like creation: Bella Baxter, who must experience life for the first time as an infant in a grown woman’s body (especially sexuality) acquiring wisdom as she journeys throughout Europe. Like Barbie, another 2023 film dealing with self-discovery, Bella has come into a strange new world and must face the realities of life and the suffering that is inherent to our existence. However, Bella’s challenging of social mores and taboos is far more graphic and provocative than what Barbie’s family-friendly audience can handle. The surreal narrative is reinforced by the choice of cinematography, which often includes a fish-eye lens and bright and vibrant colors that contrast with each other.
But I must commend the overall arc of the narrative. I have learned over the years that storytelling is much more challenging than previously assumed, particularly when it comes to the resolution. It is quite common for us to finish a movie questioning the relevance of one or more characters, or even the direction the story went. When this movie ended, whatever reservations I initially had about its surreal nature were cast aside in euphoric satisfaction. All details were suddenly relevant and necessary to lead us towards this fulfilling ending.
I must warn all readers of the surreal and sometimes disturbing themes on display, as is usually the case with Yorgos Lanthimos and his filmography. Again, it is the R-rated version of Barbie. While Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie masterfully tackled existential feminist issues, it was done at a family-friendly level. Poor Things spares no sensitivity and squeamishness. If one wants to learn the truths of life, one must be prepared to face life on all levels, including its ugliness.
When I first watched the coming-of-age teen comedy Superbad in 2008, I was immediately won over to Emma Stone as Jules, the object of Jonah Hill’s affection. As the years passed and she released hit after hit (Zomebieland, Easy A, and The Amazing Spider-Man), I knew she would have a successful career as the new “it” comedy girl ranking alongside comediennes such as Gilda Radner, Carol Burnett, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I also have had a crush on her ever since. However, I did not anticipate her taking home, not one, but TWO Academy Awards for Best Leading Actress within the next fifteen years.
The City of Cinema 