Jan 222 min read

FILM REVIEW: POOR THINGS (18) ESP RATING: 4.5/5

Updated: Jan 26

Emma Stone absolutely shines in this bizarrely hypnotic Frankenstein-esque tale.

She’ll be battling it out with Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone for the Best Actress Oscar – after they both won Golden Globes.

But there’s no doubt she puts in an award-worthy shift in this science-fantasy, black comedy, from quirky Academy Award-nominated director, Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) – as she looks to add to her La La Land gong.

In Victorian England, Willem Defoe’s eccentric surgeon Godwin ‘God’ Baxter's greatest creation is childlike young lady Bella Baxter (Stone) – a woman he resurrected soon after she committed suicide after jumping from a bridge, with an unborn child in her belly.

The only problem was she was left brain dead, so God – who himself has a monstrous appearance after being experimented on by his own father – transferred the brain from the baby into Bella, thus leaving her to learn life’s functions from scratch while being in a twentysomething body.

As she starts to rapidly develop her mind – in this first third of the film to a foreboding black and white palette – God drafts in his dedicated medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to study Bella, and he soon becomes entranced by her, and asks for her hand in marriage.

But Bella begins to crave seeing the outside world, and runs away with wealthy ‘cad’ lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark ‘Hulk’ Ruffalo) – as she embarks on a grand journey encompassing places from Lisbon to Alexandria, and eventually Paris.

But when they run out of funds, Bella enrages Duncan by working at a brothel – resulting in his mental breakdown – and they go their separate ways, as Bella gets introduced to socialism in the most unconventional of circumstances.

With great performances accompanying a cleverly-nuanced, comedy-laced, script – to the backdrop of a deliciously-haunting musical score – this won’t be everyone’s cup-of-tea, but there’s never any doubting the cinematic finesse of director Lanthimos.

Even the abundance of nude scenes as Bella ‘broadens her horizons’ is done in such an artistic fashion, it’s totally in keeping with this eclectically-surreal experience.

Which makes this one a richly gratifying – sometimes mind-bending – experience that any film buff should seek out.

ESP Rating: 4.5/5

Gavin Miller