CHICAGO | Imagine a world where Willem Dafoe plays Dr. Frankenstein and Emma Stone is his monster, except this monster is a learning and thinking being that wants to experience life and travel the world. This film (and the word film is very deliberate, as it is a work of art) has some of the best set design I have ever seen and puts Barbie to shame, with an amazing wardrobe and set design that mimic the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí heavily.
The setting of this movie is set in Victorian times with a heavy steampunk vibe that gives all the buildings and sets this whimsical feel with all the buildings having deliberate curves and intricate designs and details. In terms of cinematography, the movie is shot in a way that feels very similar to a Wes Andersen film; with a variety of lenses and camera angles being shown as well as focusing on contrast of colors and using wardrobe/outfit colors in a very distinct way. Visually this film is absolutely stunning and the set design and wardrobe are like nothing I’ve ever seen, but this movie is still very much so a dark comedy with themes and moments that will make you question things and how to see the world. Poor Things truly is hard to describe; in the beginning we are introduced to Emma Stone’s character Bella, Willem Dafoe plays a mad scientist and surgeon named Dr. Baxter who plays god for fun, making several creations that are animal hybrids such as chicken dogs and goat geese.
His most recent creation is Bella; she was “created” after Dr. Baxter found her corpse floating in a river and she was still, as he put it, “freshly dead.” So he takes her to his lab and plants the brain of a two year old into her and she comes to life. This is the basic premise, and the rest of the movie is her rediscovering the world and learning things with a naive and ever developing brain. She travels all over the world, going to places like London,Paris and Portugal as she has a craving for travel, exploring new places and experiencing new things. All throughout this trip as she meets people and gains more knowledge about the world, she slowly becomes more of a person.
The movie’s writing is also very witty and clever, as the dialogue is amazingly written making you hate yourself for laughing.. There is a scene where Bella is at a dinner party and an infant is crying and being annoying, she gets up to silence it and says, “I must go punch that baby” before her boyfriend Duncan quickly grabs her and sits her back down. Another great moment is when on a cruise ship Duncan is arguing with someone and mockingly says, “[in a mocking tone] ‘We’re all masters of our own ship’ you cu-ty c-ntface dipsh-t!” Which brings to mind this movie is definitely NOT family friendly. There are undertones of drug use, some gorey surgery scenes, sex scenes and foul language, but much like a Tarantino film they are all very deliberate and done well and improve the overall experience of the movie.
To wrap things up, this review sucks. You really can’t understand this movie unless you experience it in a theater as I have. The set design, actors and dialogue, are all brilliant and compliment each other extremely well. The two hours in the theater goes by like that and you will find yourself questioning alot and feel absolutely blown away by what you just experienced. This movie is not for everyone, some scenes are tough to watch and it takes a certain intellect to get some of the jokes as they are very witty and quick. But if what I have just described appeals to you then I urge you to look into watching it, definitely in a theater. Poor Things is being screened in most movie theaters around the city until the end of this month (if not longer), it truly is a must see.