Jacked In Reviews ‘Poor Things’ (2023)

As we settle into our red velvet seats at Tyneside Cinema, it becomes clear that their gorgeously old-fashioned, classic screen is the perfect vessel to experience this Victorian masterpiece. Based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name (well, partly, the full title is, in fact, Poor Things: Episodes From The Early Life Of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer – a very apt title for the beautifully bizarre world in which this story lives), partnering once again, we have Acadamy Award Nominee and BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Tony McNamara (The Favourite & The Great) and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Yorgos Lanthimos’ (The Lobster, Killing of the Sacred Deer & The Favourite) adaptation.

In short, the story follows the life of Scottish surgeon, Dr Godwin ‘God’ Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and his latest experiment Bella (Emma Stone). After finding the body of a pregnant woman who took her own life but with the child having survived, Godwin did the only logical thing he could… remove the brain of the baby and place it in the mother’s skull. From there we observe the exploits of the innocently articulate Bella as she tries to discover the world around her – with the mind of a child but (very much so) the body of a grown woman.

Lanthimos is no stranger to the absurd, however, this may be his most impressive feat yet…

Nailing both style and substance, we have the Frankenstein paradigm being brilliantly reversed, presenting us with this stunning “monster” and a creator who looks more like the one who was put together in a lab. The wider world is to Bella what Oz was to Dorothy, as that is the key moment colour is introduced. The gorgeous steampunk setting – showcased with the exquisite cinematography of Robbie Ryan (The Favourite & American Honey) – is complimented wonderfully by the array of comedic characters within it. Lanthimos is no stranger to the absurd, however, this may be his most impressive feat yet – and of course, he brings his delightfully deadpan style along for this splendidly surreal ride.

If twirling one’s moustache was a person, you’d get Duncan Wedderburn.

Encompassing the enigmatic trait brilliantly is Godwin with his constant burp bubbles and hilarious flippant comments regarding his Father (one of which includes his penis being branded!). Still, Mark Ruffalo steals the show as the conceited, yet pathetic, Duncan Wedderburn. It’s not what he says, it is very much how he says it, the way he carries himself, even the slightest gesture from him draws a giggle. If twirling one’s moustache was a person, you’d get Duncan Wedderburn.

Calling Emma Stone brave in this role would be a disservice.

Calling Emma Stone brave in this role would be a disservice. It’s a part that could have definitely been funny for the wrong reasons if wrongly cast or worse, distasteful, but she brings such an unformed charm to the role, subverting us to question the ways of the world. 

Although the sexual aspect of Bella plays a big part in the movie – displaying every inch of the character for the whole world to see – what we have here is quite new to the “raunchier” side of cinema. By the end of the picture, the nudity almost feels quotidian, causing you to be desensitised to it. For that reason, it accomplishes sex (or “furious jumping” in this case), the naked form and the power that comes with it, being taken away, the taboos removed and barriers broken. 

It’s ludicrous in all the right ways, uniquely empowering and heartwarming in a form you never thought possible.

It’s ludicrous in all the right ways, uniquely empowering and heartwarming in a form you never thought possible.

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