As of this writing, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ “female Frankenstein” story Poor Things, which stars Emma Stone (Cruella), has a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviewers predicting that the film is going to be a contender at this year’s Academy Awards. One of those reviewers is JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray, who gave Poor Things a 9/10 review that can be read HERE and said, “If this doesn’t win Best Production Design and Costuming at the Oscars this year, something will be quite wrong with the Academy.” Poor Things can currently be seen in theatres – but if you haven’t decided whether or not to catch it on the big screen yet, today we have a couple clips for you to take a look at that might help you reach the decision. One is embedded above and another can be found at the bottom of this article.
Scripted by Tony McNamara and based on a novel by Alasdair Gray (pick up a copy HERE), Poor Things is described as being the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Stone is joined in the cast by Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Dr. Godwin Baxter and Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) as Duncan Wedderburn. Ramy Youssef (Ramy), Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show), Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Suzy Bemba (Kandisha), and Christopher Abbott (Possessor) are also in the cast.
Stone earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Lanthimos’s film The Favourite, and Poor Things brings them back together. In a Vogue interview, Lanthimos revealed that he has been wanting to make Poor Things for several years, going back to the days before his 2015 film The Lobster, and had been talking to Stone about the project since they were working on The Favourite together. Since wrapping on Poor Things, they have already collaborated on another film called And.
When we first heard about Poor Things, all we knew about the story was that it was called a “female Frankenstein” story because after drowning herself to escape her abusive husband, Bella’s brain is replaced by that of her unborn child.
Have you already seen Poor Things? If so, let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below. And if you haven’t, let us know if the clips made you more or less likely to see the film.