Poor Things

The most wildly creative film of 2023.

Poor Things is a film that you must keep on your radar screen. I would be surprised if it wasn’t nominated for a best picture Oscar.

In addition, I think the best actress Oscar will either go to Emma Stone or Margot Robbie for Barbie. Here Ms. Stone plays Bella Baxter, a young pregnant woman brought back to life by a questionable scientist (Willem DaFoe) who looks like Frankenstein’s twin brother.

After transplanting the brain of a fetus into Bella, she wakes up as a young child in an adult’s body. The rest of the Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ wild film follows Bella as she runs off with a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) on an adventure across Europe. Bella seeks to find her identity as she ages from an intellectual standpoint.

Taking place in Victorian London, Dr. Godwin Baxter (DaFoe) seeks to mold Bella as she emerges from childhood. Though a kind assistant of the doctor, played by Ramy Youssef, wants to marry her, he is no match for Ruffalo’s mad lawyer. As he whisks her away over Europe where you will see more sexual encounters than has ever that hit the big screen.

In addition, the costume design is sensational. You begin rooting for Bella to succeed. It is both inspiring and remarkable as you watch her blossom in her intellectualism.

This is a fantastic film that is even better than Lanthimos’ previous films The Favourite and The Lobster. While I am rooting for Ms. Robbie to win, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Ms. Stone add a second Oscar (La La Land) to her collection.