POOR THINGS (2023)
"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."

Aka Feminist Frankenstein!
I'm very happy I didn't give in to the hype and see Poor Things last year in theaters. I would have felt cheated of my money; without that bias applied, seeing it at home made me more entranced by the positive aspects it had to offer. As mentioned in my review of The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017), I'm not a Yorgos Lanthimos fan at all. Most of his movies I find to be overtly sexual without any real passion put into it and simply pretentious. However, with Poor Things, based on the 1992 novel Poor Things: Episodes From The Early Life Of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer by author Alasdair Gray, I actually enjoyed a majority of what I saw. It's still an overrated movie and receives rave reviews from people declaring it as a Feminist treasure although I'd argue it's not the best kind of feminism to be treasuring mainly for the obvious fact that it objectifies its protagonist Bella (portrayed by Emma Stone). Yeah, I get she's like an infant growing up at first because of the infant brain implanted in her head and it metaphorically displays a woman's sexual liberation from her teen years into her adulthood but c'mon; she glorifies promiscuity which is ridiculous (and before any naysayers call me prudish, I've indulged in more my fair share of sexual conquests and have moved on from that lifestyle) and she gets her simp lover to marry her in the end with him admitting he's fine if she sleeps around while they're together basically. Sounds judgy but I don't care; again, I've been there, done that, but glorifying it in media especially as of late is insane. I think it's bothersome most to me because many of the sex scenes depicted are passionless and repetitive or reliant on shock from the audience due to partial fetishes exposed. It's a cheap gimmick. Of course, Yorgos has to throw in some disgusting incestuous notion with a Parisian father showing his two sons how to fuck properly by using Bella as the catalyst. This is just nasty and I'm surprised no one talks about Yorgos' weird ass fixation on family members crossing boundaries. Or his clear as day hand fetish that's abundant in many of his films. The absurdist comedy is always hit or miss with me in the realm of Yorgos Lanthimos and here that's no exception. I did not like the ending of the movie, feeling they tacked on an antagonist in the last twenty minutes to make Bella's previous life as Victoria seem justified in her wanting to kill herself, and I did not like the way the plot was executed.

Now that we got all of that harsh sounding hoopla out of the way, on to the positives because I did enjoy Poor Things enough to give it ⭐⭐⭐ which that or above in my book signifies recommendation to watch. The performances from everyone involved are great. Emma Stone and Willem DaFoe are radiant in their respective roles. Even though I have issues with the story and progression of events, I cannot deny the brilliance in the acting. Mark Ruffalo is a bit rough at times in his eccentric behavior, but overall he's great too. The Frankenstein fan within me loves the little bit of reminiscent lore with Bella being brought back to life and Dr. Godwin Baxter (portrayed by Willem DaFoe) being an amalgam of Dr. Frankenstein and The Monster. I wish more was explored with that to be honest. The inner Portuguese in me loved the Lisbon scenes even though it was clearly Steampunk-alternate history influenced. The visuals in general are intoxicating with how vivid yet phantasmagorical they come off. The opening and closing credits were imaginative. There's also a couple of genuinely funny or heartfelt moments that I actually found invigorating. And the musical compositions are fantastic.

Poor Things isn't a grand-slam winner for me like it is for everyone else. It's definitely flawed and personally does not ensnare me the way I hoped it would. But I did like it enough to recommend it. So give it a watch when available!