Poor Things, the latest weird tale from director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, The Lobster) premiered this week at the Venice Film Festival, and the internet is already exploding with praise. If seeing this movie isn’t on your December calendar yet, get it on there posthaste.
The Frankenstein-inspired film, based on the novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, follows Bella (Emma Stone), a woman whose corpse has been reanimated by the scientist Dr. Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As Bella slowly learns about the world, she runs off with the lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) and travels around the world.
The trailer makes it clear that the movie plumbs the depths of Lanthimos’ formidable imagination. On Dr. Baxter’s estate, Bella feeds strange animal hybrids while she learns to work her reanimated body. She goes on sexual escapades with Duncan while sailing the ocean and exploring strange cities. This movie looks like a treat for lovers of fantasy, horror, and absurdist comedy alike.
The Hollywood Reporter came away from the film with a glowing first impression:
A bracingly original confection, the new film leans into the off-kilter absurdist humor that made the Greek auteur a festival darling, while also blending some of the resplendent period detail of The Favourite with new elements of gothic horror and whimsy.
As someone who just sits around sometimes and thinks about how much I love The Favourite, I’m already sold. But wait—it gets even better! Apparently Poor Things is really, really sexy!
Alex Billington calls it the “raunchiest film of the decade.” Sign me up!
Marlow Stern calls it “the best film I’ve seen so far this year,” and praises Emma Stone—who does look freaking amazing in the trailer.
Yasmine Kandil says it’s a “truly phenomenal adaptation that is both loyal & unrestrained,” calling it Emma Stone’s “career-best performance.”
Lex Briscuso also calls it the best performance of Emma Stone’s career, and calls the movie “the most magical odyssey of humanity, science, & liberation that anyone could think of.”
Luke Hearfield calls it a “triumphant, oddball coming-of-age” film.
Poor Things premieres in the U.S. on December 8th, so I know what I’ll be doing that night! I need this film in my life ASAP.
(featured image: Searchlight Pictures)
