[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Poor Things

The new film from Yorgos Lanthimos, who made The Lobster and The Favourite, Poor Things stars Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a young woman living in Victorian-era London.

The film opens in colour showing her jumping to her death from a bridge, before switching to monochrome where we see Bella living with a heavily scarred scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Defoe), who she calls "God".

To assist him in his studies, which involve public autopsies and unorthodox/illegal experimentation, he employs a medical student, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), who almost immediately falls in love with the awkward and childlike Bella, a woman with a limited vocabulary and almost no 'filter'. To use Freudian descriptors, she is entirely the id and without any ego or superego to limit her desires or extravagant behaviour.

Not only is McCandles smitten with Bella, but his debauched lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) also falls in love with her and decides to take her away on a European trip, beginning in Lisbon.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this because the trailer was tantalising, but not exactly detail-rich, so I won't give away too many plot points here. I will say that I thoroughly enjoy the weirdness and discomfort caused by watching The Lobster, the offbeat humour and aesthetics of The Favourite, and the nightmarish surrealism of Dogtooth.

With Poor Things, Lanthimos seems to have taken some inspiration from Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, and David Lynch, and has created a wonderful environment for his brilliantly named characters, a steam-punk Victoriana which feels historical and futuristic, perfect for the story and characters. He also uses the fisheye lens to great effect and cleverly switches between monochrome and colour to play with mood and location – cinematographer Robbie Ryan deserves every accolade he receives for such remarkable work, as does composer Jerskin Fendrix for providing a wonderfully weird musical backdrop.

I loved the film and laughed out loud multiple times because some of the dialogue is wickedly funny; some of it comes from Bella's impulsivity and lack of inhibition and some of the other characters wouldn't be out of place in a Jean-Pierre Jeunet-Marc Caro film.

Finally, although this is undoubtedly Lanthimos' finest film, it's also the finest performance of Emma Stone's accomplished career – it's the sort of acting achievement which happens very rarely and is notable because of its bravery (few actors of her stature and fame would make a film with so much nudity and sex) and audaciousness.

If you can, I recommend watching Poor Things at the cinema but, if you can't go before the theatrical run finishes and have enjoyed either The Lobster or The Favourite, then this is definitely one to buy when it is released for viewing. As I haven't seen The Killing of a Sacred Deer, I'm going to watch that this weekend.