Line #10 Film/Poison2023


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/poison_netflix.png]]
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3	''Poison'' is a 2023 ShortFilm (~17 minutes) directed by Creator/WesAnderson, adapted from the short story of the same name by Creator/RoaldDahl. It is one of four Dahl short story adaptations Anderson directed for Creator/{{Netflix}} that premiered in 2023. The story had previously been adapted as episodes of ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' and ''Series/TalesOfTheUnexpected''.
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5	Somewhere in India during the time of British rule, the narrator Timber Woods (Creator/DevPatel) comes across his friend Harry Pope (Creator/BenedictCumberbatch) lying still on his bed, claiming that a poisonous krait is lying on his stomach. Woods calls a local doctor, Dr. Ganderbai (Creator/BenKingsley) to help out.
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8	!!Tropes:
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10	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: Both short story and screen versions of the story end with Harry hurling racist insults at Ganderbai for daring to question whether there was a snake at all. In the original short story, Ganderbai takes it in stride, telling the (implicitly white[[note]]the ending notes tell the audience that the character was initially named for an RAF pilot, and Woods is portrayed as white in prior live-action adaptations[[/note]]) Timber that the event has messed with Harry's head. In this version, Ganderbai is much colder, and tells the (now explicitly Indian) Timber that he cannot apologize for Harry's behavior. A sign saying "British jute" [[note]]jute quickly became a cash crop as the British became more involved in India[[/note]] is prominent in the background, reminding the audience of the power dynamics at play.
11	* AmbiguousSituation: The end of the short reveals that there is no snake on Harry's stomach. It's unclear if it slithered off to elsewhere in the room/house at some point, or if there was ever a snake at all.
12	* DoubleMeaningTitle: Like in the short story, the titular ''Poison'' refers not just to the threat of dying via snake bite, but also to the bigotry and toxicity Harry possesses towards Indians.
13	* PunnyName: The protagonist and narrator of the story is named Timber Woods.
14	* ScarsAreForever: Timber mentions that the smell of chloroform uncomfortably reminds him of hospitals and wars. As he says this the screen {{split\|screen}}s to show him in the past at a hospital, a recently-stitched-up scar running across his forehead. In the present, the scar is still there.
15	* SplitScreen: The screen is halved as Woods narrates Dr. Ganderbai injecting Harry with the serum, with Woods' narration on the right and the camera cutting between the doctor and Harry on the left. The same technique is used when Ganderbai breaks out the chloroform.
16	* SuckOutThePoison: The narrator prepares to cut Harry and suck out the venom if he's bitten.
17	* UngratefulBastard: It's ultimately revealed that there is no snake on Harry's stomach. Dr. Ganderbai, attempting to defuse the tension, jokes that maybe he dreamed it. Harry takes this as Ganderbai calling him a liar, and begins hurling racist insults at the doctor. This is after Ganderbai has ventured out in the middle of the night in his pyjamas and gone to great lengths to help save Harry's life, even if there was never any actual danger.

Context Film / Poison2023