From the director of The Favourite and The Lobster, comes Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos's most ambitiously surreal comedy-drama to date. It tells the story of Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life by a froggy looking mad scientist, cursing her with the mind of an infant in the process. We watch Bella stumble through life, having to learn her place in Victorian era polite society, tripping on each of its contradictions in the process.
Bella has all the compulsions of a toddler. She wants to eat, piss, fondle, and occasionally punch other children who annoy her. Meanwhile, the men around her feel little shame in being attracted to "the prettiest retard", and are delighted by her frankness and openness to sex (or "furious jumping", as she understands it). The only exception is our mad scientist, for whom sex is a physical impossibility; he already took his liberties with Bella's body when he mutilated her back into life.
If the prospect of watching the statutory rape of a mentally disabled, child-woman is off putting, I wouldn't blame you. Fortunately the movie makes the pill easier to swallow by presenting the ideas in such a surreal, dreamlike, ridiculous way. In these circumstances, the frank reality of what is going on doesn't hit as hard. The art nouveau fantasy, the janky music score, the absurdity of how Bella was brought back to life, all helps distance the movie from any disquieting thoughts of real life child abuse.
Poor Things is a broad satire of the patriarchy; a system which prioritises comportment and gentlemanliness, but only to obfuscate and excuse a male urge to control women. Bella soon comes to understand her mistreatment but views it in a coolly detached way. She still wants the furious jumping, and wishes the men would just be as earnest and open to it as she is, without the need for posturing and control. Fortunately, she chooses childish forthrightness over ladylike behaviour, and walks out on each of these men (much to their chagrin). It's a delight each time it happens.
Every element of Good Things is masterful. The acting, the music, the direction, the visuals, the comedy, even the way it handles graphic nudity and sex, all of it is done with a confidence and skill you won't find anywhere else. Even elements that would be a weakness in conventional films, such as Mark Ruffalo's ridiculously inconsistent Terry Thomas accent, only serves to compliment the humorous and absurdist tone. If you haven't watched it already, please don't hesitate.
Mannerpunk
From the director of The Favourite and The Lobster, comes Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos's most ambitiously surreal comedy-drama to date. It tells the story of Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life by a froggy looking mad scientist, cursing her with the mind of an infant in the process. We watch Bella stumble through life, having to learn her place in Victorian era polite society, tripping on each of its contradictions in the process.
Bella has all the compulsions of a toddler. She wants to eat, piss, fondle, and occasionally punch other children who annoy her. Meanwhile, the men around her feel little shame in being attracted to "the prettiest retard", and are delighted by her frankness and openness to sex (or "furious jumping", as she understands it). The only exception is our mad scientist, for whom sex is a physical impossibility; he already took his liberties with Bella's body when he mutilated her back into life.
If the prospect of watching the statutory rape of a mentally disabled, child-woman is off putting, I wouldn't blame you. Fortunately the movie makes the pill easier to swallow by presenting the ideas in such a surreal, dreamlike, ridiculous way. In these circumstances, the frank reality of what is going on doesn't hit as hard. The art nouveau fantasy, the janky music score, the absurdity of how Bella was brought back to life, all helps distance the movie from any disquieting thoughts of real life child abuse.
Poor Things is a broad satire of the patriarchy; a system which prioritises comportment and gentlemanliness, but only to obfuscate and excuse a male urge to control women. Bella soon comes to understand her mistreatment but views it in a coolly detached way. She still wants the furious jumping, and wishes the men would just be as earnest and open to it as she is, without the need for posturing and control. Fortunately, she chooses childish forthrightness over ladylike behaviour, and walks out on each of these men (much to their chagrin). It's a delight each time it happens.
Every element of Good Things is masterful. The acting, the music, the direction, the visuals, the comedy, even the way it handles graphic nudity and sex, all of it is done with a confidence and skill you won't find anywhere else. Even elements that would be a weakness in conventional films, such as Mark Ruffalo's ridiculously inconsistent Terry Thomas accent, only serves to compliment the humorous and absurdist tone. If you haven't watched it already, please don't hesitate.