After I completed a startling read of a book which I cannot wait to review, I decided to pause for a bit to see a light movie of sorts. At least that’s what I was going for till I saw the movie, Poor Things and proceeded to download it. I wasn’t too taken by the summary of the film and I’m not usually keen on watching trailers before seeing the actual movie. But because I saw Emma Stone, who is one of my top five best Hollywood actresses, I knew I had to see it.
Poor Things (2023)
The movie, released in September 2023 is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. It stars popular actors like Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, etc. It is based on the 1992 novel by the Scottish writer, Alasdair Gray, and follows the story of a young woman in Victorian London, who is rebirth through a brain transplant and proceeds to embark on a journey of self-discovery. It’s a two-hour-long film.
Summary of The Plot
The story begins with a coloured visual of the back of a lady. She seems to be on the edge and looking down at something. It is almost clear what she tries to do and soon enough she takes the leap and falls off the bridge and into the water. The scene then shifts into monochrome video quality and this continues for about a quarter of the movie.
We see a lady who plays discordant, somewhat aggressive tunes on the piano. Her name is Bella Baxter. And then a man walks towards her, observing her as she plays with an almost proud look on his disjointed, heavily scarred face. His name is Godwin Baxter, or is fondly referred to by Bella as “God.”
The story is off to a start when Doctor Godwin brings Max, a student of his, to observe and keep company with the almost brain-dead Bella. Bella is aggressive and erratic, but Godwin is convinced that his creation is developing at an astonishing rate. He notices that Max has grown fond of Bella and takes advantage of the situation to suggest that they marry.
He gets Duncan Wedderburn to draw up a legally binding document to finalize the wedding plans with Max and Bella, but a curious Duncan wanders off to find Bella and almost instantly takes a fancy to her. He proposes that they run off at midnight to Lisbon and Bella, enraptured by thoughts of exploration agrees and gets Godwin Baxter to do same, promising to marry Max once she’s done with her explorations, much to a disgruntled Max.
It is a thrilling and sensual journey between her and Duncan once they arrive at Lisbon. Bella discovers things about her body and in turn, the cruel world around her. From Lisbon to Alexandria and then Paris where she works at a whorehouse, she meets new people and gains grounds of who she is as a person. Her formerly underdeveloped brain transformed soon enough to one befitting of her age.
She has by this time discarded Duncan and when she gets news that Godwin Baxter is dying, she comes back to London a refined and reformed woman. The story may have ended uneventfully but when her past and the people characterising it resurface, Bella must put all she’s learnt into question and make a decision. To go or to stay.
My Review and Rating
I was confused in the beginning, but I liked the progression of the story. It has an interesting start and has this eerie background sound in most of the scenes, giving it this thrillingly pregnant sensation. A feeling of foreboding.
The scenes would go from slow to incredibly fast and back again and while that is generally what makes a movie exciting, it began to go downhill in that regard for me. Apart from Emma Stone and Ruffalo who I could always trust to interpret their roles impeccably, the rest of the characters didn’t just do it as well as they should for me. However, the storyline was unique and the succession of events carried out nicely.
I like the way it explored the themes of self-discovery and awareness. I like that it brought to light without prejudice that every human is their own free man and as such shouldn’t be judged by the experiences that have shaped them into becoming who they are.
Poor Things is the kind of movie in my opinion that you’re sure to forget about almost immediately afterwards and also would not be keen to watch again, but you at least, don’t regret watching it. And that’s how I feel. It is a nicely done movie and though it didn’t hold any particular thrill for me, I do not regret watching it in the least. And on that note, I give it a 3.9/5. Highly recommended for anyone in search of something relaxed but thrilling at the same time.
Jhymi🖤
Thumbnail Source Other images are screenshots from the movie.
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