Poor Things
‘She (Bella Baxter) thinks that all aspects of life are fascinating because she is in love with being alive. I find that very inspiring. I wish I could live like that more often. Whether she is going through an incredible experience or a really difficult one, she gives an equal weight to them and finds an interest in them because that’s life ...’
Emma Stone on her character Bella Baxter in Poor Things.
Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo are terrific in director Yorgos Lanthimos Poor Things. Stone plays Bella Baxter as a developing child in an adult woman’s body. I won’t reveal how that came about as it would be a spoiler.
The film is an adaption of Alasdair Gray’s fiction book, Poor Things. Gray’s novel – a fusion of historical fiction and horror fiction – is a revision of Mary Shelley’s horror story Frankenstein published in 1818.
Ruffalo succeeds as the womanizer and exceptionally attractive cad, Duncan Wedderburn. His charm, oiliness and eventual downfall are comedic and Ruffalo plays the villain as a self indulgent bounder.
Dafoe is sinister, god-like and vulnerable all at once – not an easy role to play. But Dafoe pulls it off and is utterly convincing as Dr Godwin Baxter, an obsessed scientist who teeters on the edge of madness. Ramy Youssef plays Max McCandles, Godwin’s earnest assistant and Bella’s first love interest.
It’s never made clear what year the film is set in. The costuming and film sets are fabulous and mostly fantasy based. Lisbon is entrancing and other worldly. However, Bella’s story begins in what appears to be Victorian England before morphing into Steampunk territory.
I loved Bella’s flamboyant gowns, swirling fish tails, translucent coats and heavily padded shoulders and draped suits. While Wedderburn, McCandles and Dr Baxter are suited and booted in Victorian gent’s style suits, Bella gets to misbehave in mini skirts, sheer blouses, voluptuous evening gowns and white ankle booties.
The early scenes concerning Bella’s origins are primarily shot in black and white before morphing into brilliant technicolour. The music that accompanies the film is often tempestuous and discordant and it changes according to the mood of the main actors.
I particularly loved the sheer exuberance and wickedness of the script. One film reviewer called it ‘filthy’ in an approving way. Conservative viewers might find the brothel scenes outrageously immoral and offensive. However, the seedy brothel clients contribute to our understanding of Bella’s desire for new experiences and also add a comedic element to the proceedings.
I’m squeamish about violence. I admit I had my eyes tightly closed during some of the brothel scenes – not because they were sexually explicit – but because I feared things would turn ugly for Bella. But it didn’t happen.
Driven by intense curiosity to see and experience everything life has to offer, Bella remains unharmed on her wild adventures in Portugal. It seems innocence really does protect itself. She then sets sail to Alexandria, Egypt, and Paris and back to London.
As Bella Baxter evolves into a lucid, intelligent and street-smart young woman she dumps Victorian conventions and faces her obstacles to happiness fearlessly.
She also develops a scientific mindset and applies Godwin Baxter’s scientific analysis to her strange experiences. Bella’s ability to rationalize her strange behaviour drives Duncan Wedderburn up the wall. His meltdown and comeuppance is comedic and most satisfying.
In closing, I can’t but think the world would be a much better place if more of us possessed Bella Baxter’s untamed passion and joy of living.
photo: Emma Stone as Bella Baxter in the Georgios Lanthimos film, Poor Things (2023).