Poor Things | Expect more than just a female Frankenstein!

According to reviews by critics at the Venice Film Festival, Poor Things is one of the most anticipated films for the rest of 2023.

It is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and adapted from Alasdair Gray’s novel in 1992. In a review by the Los Angeles Times, it is described as a steampunk Victorian freakout with elements of macabre black comedy and horror. Lanthimos presents an extraordinary, artificial, and contorted world that creates a huge space for exploration from diverse perspectives. In this brief preview, I will make an educated guess about its content based on its trailer, the original novel, and Lanthimos' previous works. Let's see what we can expect from Poor Things!

A child’s mind in the body of an adult woman, that's where the drama begins!

According to the story of the original novel, the protagonist of Poor Things, Bella(Emma Stone), is a young woman who attempts to take her own life by throwing herself off London's Tower Bridge. Dr. Godwin Baxter(Willem Dafoe), a brilliant scientist, retrieves her nearly dead body from the muddy bank of the Thames River and uses unconventional methods to bring her back to life. Under Baxter's protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she lacks, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

Based on its trailer and the novel, you may think this is another Frankenstein story. That’s true. However, unlike Frankenstein, Bella was already a living woman before being transformed by Baxter. As a result, she does not harbor the same desire to become a human as Frankenstein did. On the other hand, her untrained mind grants her greater freedom than most. Thus, it can be expected that "Poor Thing" will offer more than just a clichéd representation of learning to embrace humanity.

When an absurdist virtuoso attempts to tell a story about female Frankenstein, the story cannot be dull!

Director Yorgos Lanthimos is a master of absurdism. If you have seen a couple of his films, you can easily summarize and identify his surreal style.

He has crafted a distinctive cinematographic style that creates a sense of unease and uncertainty in the audience, effectively setting the tone for his peculiar brand of black comedy. He has employed handheld tracking shots and behind-the-head angles to intentionally obscure the characters' emotions from the audience. At times, the characters' heads were even cut out of the frame to achieve this sense of uncertainty.

This cinematographic style serves as an essential tool for Lanthimos to create a surreal atmosphere in his films. He has shown a keen interest in disturbing connections between humans and animals in his storylines. In The Lobster, people who can not get married are transformed into animals and being hunted in the wild. In The Dog Tooth, cats and dogs are essential to present the absurd circumstances. In this film, Lanthimos chose to create a surreal atmosphere, making the adult characters appearing awkward throughout. The childlike characters and their peculiar behaviors were combined to create a sense of dark humor. Sudden bursts of violence were also included in the film to show the depressed sides of these characters. It is not surprising to see Bella exhibiting childlike behavior and blow up at others suddenly in the trailer of Poor Things. Furthermore, considering the ambiguous endings of Lanthimos' previous films, we can expect that Poor Things will have an unusual storyline that differs from the original novel and any other popular sci-fi films.

Of course, you can always count on Emma Stone's genuine acting.

As a supporting character in The Favorite, Emma Stone has collaborated with Lanthimos twice. This time, many have predicted that she would receive many award nominations for her performance in Poor Things. Personally, I am a big fan of Emma Stone. She has shown great potential in portraying the diverse personalities of the characters she plays. She possesses Mia's sensitivity in La La Land, Abigail's ambition in The Favourite, and Cruella's intelligence in Cruella. Her acting style is a clever blend of humor and seriousness, naivety and wickedness, as well as savvy and foolishness, which allows her to portray Bella, a female Frankenstein who has never been depicted on screen before. Considering her acting style, we can expect a much lighter and more humorous tone in Poor Things. I am sure the movie will not be boring in anyway.

In addition, it has been suggested that Poor Things is a feminist adaptation of Frankenstein. As a feminist myself, I am curious about how Bella's femininity and her perception of gender and sexuality will be depicted. Will it present a critique of patriarchy, similar to what Barbie has done but with greater depth? I am looking forward to what will be included in the film.

I hope you had fun watching the trailers and my summary of the creator's style. If you enjoy this article, please give it a like or leave your comments! I will be happy to hear your thoughts on it :)