Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Writer: Tony McNamara
Starring: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef
This is Yorgos Lanthimos’ world and we are just living in it. Dogtooth, Alps, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Favourite, and now Poor Things; with every film, this brilliant director comes closer and closer to perfection, and, with his latest attempt, he may have actually achieved it. Poor Things is the next in a pattern of improvement and skill, Lanthimos melding his wacky style with Hollywood norms until the final product is a uniquely satisfying cinematic experience that is both art and movie.
A young and curious medical student named Max McCandles is asked to join a …research experiment …by the secretive and disfigured doctor Godwin Baxter. The experiment in question is a young woman, Bella, who is an adult in body but a child in mind. But she grows in maturity and intelligence by the day, and is learning faster than her brain or body can keep up. Soon, she’ll outpace her researchers and ache to explore the world outside her Gothic home, leading to confusion, experimentation, and trouble.
Not only is Poor Things the best Lanthimos film yet, but it is also perhaps the best film of the year, a real accomplishment from a director who always pushes the envelope, but who went the extra mile with this one. It’s weird, it’s sexual, it’s comedic, it’s not something you’ve ever experienced before, and, for most audiences, it should feel like a breath of fresh air. And yet, at the same time Lanthimos was able to create something comfortable, a coming-of-age tale that we can follow easily, and a movie with morals that we understand. Combining normalcy with ridiculousness is not easy, and I’d say films like The Lobster or Asteroid City failed in that area, becoming only exclusive art, or self-congratulatory cinema. Poor Things rises above that trap, with a combination of story and storytelling that’s simply compelling. Add in some of the best acting you will see all year, from all four leads really, and you’ve got a film that stands out in every way and would deserve any award it won.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★