Poor Things
This is not a review. This is an ode. Easily best thing I saw this year. It is bright, colourful, and it has all the possible vibrancy and highlights. There’s nothing subtle in there and it actually works.
Lanthimos is currently one of the most valuable directors who still keeps his weird roots and can make his big films just as strange as Dogtooth. I adore his point of view and I had quite big expectations of Poor Things. It exceeded them.
The production design is a masterpiece and I’m kind of disappointed it’s unable to visit these sets (they were being destroyed during production). The story is quite extraordinary. It is based on a book with the same title but it still feels fresh and intriguing, regardless. They could’ve cross out a few plotlines at the end (that weren’t exactly giving anything) but overall it is a mesmerising story of growing up and curiosity.
Emma Stone’s performance is an instant Oscar for me. Bella is an extraordinary character and I loved every subtle change she deployed throughout the film. Mark Ruffalo also shows his absolutely most insane face. He isn’t a stranger to less famous roles after his transformation into Hulk, but his performances are usually subtle and repressed (solid in Dark Waters). Here he screams and shouts and is absolutely out of any kind of comfort zone. He is an excellent second fiddle to Emma’s Bella.
And it doesn’t end there.
Poor Things is a party I’ve never thought I wanted to be invited to. It is a discovery of the new world together with Bella. The world quite different to ours and yet so close to it. I’d recommend this indecent journey to all of you.
Sure, listening to Robbie Ryan (cinematographer) and asking Willem Defoe a question didn’t hurt. But it was only an extra cherry on top of already incredible cake. I think the best Q&A’s are when you’re actually
If you’re wondering, the question was how he liked playing god. And his answer – just as cheesy – was that he’d done it before. And it got a long applause that I’m proud of. You’re living for the little things.
