Poor Things is a sci-fi comedy that tells the incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter; a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter.

We finally have this much talked about film here in the UK and it really does live up to the hype and then some. Poor Things takes the main plot points from the Alasdair Gray novel of the same name and completely does its own thing with the material, creating a feminist masterpiece that somehow managed to surpass my already high expectations.

The structure is perfect, starting with Bella Baxter’s early days in an almost Eraserhead-esque first act that then goes on to tell this likeable character’s life story in two compelling, expertly paced acts.

From start to finish, there are scenes of hilarious humour, all of which landed for me, a certain sense of surrealism that perfectly fits the story and a real sense of heart and sincerity that really drives home the films messages. At its core, it’s an empowering film about a woman finding her own feet and breaking free of the control that men believe they have over her mind and body. It’s a tale of identity, power and existence told with the basic premise of Frankenstein through the eyes of a woman and that works so well for the messages that are always present throughout.

It’s a very sex positive film, something that adds to Bella taking control of her own body and doing as she pleases, as well as leading to some excellent sex worker representation and the idea that the biggest threat to the male characters is Bella’s decision to find pleasure from whoever she likes whenever she likes; it’s amazing to see a film taking this route in such a way that never holds back and dealing so well with Bella finding sexual freedom.

Emma Stone is phenomenal in the lead role as Bella. From her early scenes to her final scene, Stone grows with the character and fully embraces the whacky nature of what happens throughout a lot of this film and it’s so entertaining to watch. But it’s not all comedy, she has multiple grounded and emotional moments too and she fully owns them, commanding the screen in such a way that’ll undoubtedly have people talking about this performance for years to come.

She’s joined by an incredible supporting cast where everyone delivers stellar career best performance. Willem Dafoe fully delves into the weird tone of the film, particularly during that first act where he brings a borderline unsettling side to his character and works brilliantly alongside Stone and the fantastic Ramy Youssef. Mark Ruffalo is just simply phenomenal here, delivering some of the funniest comedic scenes of the film and completely making this character his own in a way that recognises how unlikeable he is yet also makes you want to see more of him just to see if he continues to consistently make a fool out of himself.

Jerrod Carmichael, Suzy Bemba, Hanna Schygulla and Kathryn Hunter all deserve mentions just as much as the main cast members, they don’t get a lot of screen time but they all make the most of it whenever they’re on screen, they’re all incredible and play four of the best characters in the film. The costume designs are breathtaking, all of Bella’s outfits are stunning with each one getting better as the film goes along, and the set designs are on another level. It’s all made to look beautiful with some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen.

There’s a certain sense of familiarity to The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and Bram Stoker’s Dracula with some of the lighting choices here within certain set pieces and I mean that as a huge compliment, it’s great to see a modern day film going in that direction.

It feels like an homage to older films whilst feeling completely new and fresh at the same time, something that really blows my mind, it’s a perfect blend. Every shot is just perfection and it’s complimented by one of the best scores I’ve heard in a long time. The fact that Jerskin Fendrix is a first time composer is truly unbelievable, this score is amazing and always fits the absurdist tone of the film in the best way possible. 

Overall, Poor Things is a masterclass in filmmaking, a feminist masterpiece that tells a compelling story about a compelling character whilst delivering themes of identity, power and existence. It’s messages are delivered in such a clear and powerful way whilst the film goes on to boast stunning set and costume designs, a phenomenal score, some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen and powerhouse performances from its consistently impressive cast. This is the first (UK) new release I’ve seen this year and that bar has been set so high; this really does live up to the hype and then some.

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