“Poor Things” with Emma Stone
Braver story of emancipation compared to “Barbie”?
Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things.
© Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios
The Frankenstein grotesque “Poor Things” with Emma Stone has emerged as a contender for the Oscars at the Golden Globes.
Giorgos Lanthimos’ (50) new film “Poor Things” has been running in German cinemas since January 18th. Anyone who is familiar with the Greek director’s previous works knows that a bitterly evil to offensive, bizarre to extremely creative tour de force is in store. In the form of “Poor Things” it is perhaps the most unusual emancipation story of all time, at the center of which Emma Stone (35) is likely to have made it to the top of the list of favorites for the upcoming Oscars.
Frankenstein in a new guise – that’s what it’s all about
“Poor Things” is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray (1934-2019). The story takes place in 19th century England and begins with a young, pregnant woman (Stone) diving into the Thames falls. The eccentric doctor Dr. However, Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe, 68) manages to save her life through a morally questionable experiment – he puts the unborn child’s brain into her head and uses electric shocks to bring her back to life.
With infantile innocence and curiosity, but in the body of an adult woman, the creation christened Bella explores her surroundings – and ultimately her own sexuality, in which various men feel they have a say.
“Bella” or “Barbie”?
“Poor Things” certainly won’t be the most commercially successful film of the year. You don’t have to be a cinema prophet to know that. In terms of its feminist message, however, it measures up exactly with its counterpart from 2023, Greta Gerwig’s (40) mega-hit “Barbie”. The Golden Globes recently suggested that the more controversial of the two emancipation stories could triumph at the Oscars. Emma “Bella” Stone beat Margot “Barbie” Robbie (33) for “Best Actress Comedy/Musical”. “Poor Things” itself also nabbed the award for “Best Comedy/Musical” and had previously won the Golden Lion of Venice.
Similar to Tim Burton’s (65) interpretation of the Mary Shelley classic, his wonderfully weird “Edward Scissorhands”, Lanthimos mixes horror elements with the almost fairytale simplicity of his main character. And the sad realization: not all people who claim to be well disposed towards you actually are. Sometimes they are the ones that hinder you the most from your own development.
Parallels to other works by the director
Lanthimos has already innovatively illuminated the escape from a (golden) cage or supposedly established way of life in other films: in the grotesque “The Lobster” with Colin Farrell (47) and Rachel Weisz (53), his disturbing feature film premiere “Dogtooth”, or the historical film “The Favorite” – here also with Emma Stone in the lead role.
If you liked one or all of these examples, you have a mandatory movie date with Bella. Everyone else will rub their eyes in surprise more than once.