Poor Things is a coming-of-age movie like no other I’ve ever seen, (in every
sense of the word “coming”).
By Eabha Casey |
Yorgos Lanthimos has directed many an odd film, from The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The
Lobster as well as The Favourite, it’s no secret that he can create a film that leaves the audience in a state of shock. However, what I took away from Poor Things was to not lose that childhood
whimsy that gives the world colour.
The plot follows Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone), a young woman in Victorian London,
who is resurrected by a scientist following her suicide. Baxter embarks on an odyssey of self-
discovery. When we first meet Bella she’s at home with her creator and guardian Dr. Godwin
Baxter (played by Willem DaFoe), whom she calls ‘God’, and her mind is like a blank slate. Her
world can only be seen in black and white, yet as she gains confidence and understanding for the
world, colour begins to seep in.
When the infamous ladies’ man Duncan Wedderburn (played by Mark Ruffalo) sweeps Bella off
her feet to travel the world together, he is immediately infatuated with her and can’t seem to
leave her side. As she quickly becomes aware of the joys and heartaches that come hand-in-hand
with life, she begins to grow as an individual and leaves Duncan in the dust of her new found
intelligence.
He initially became obsessed with Bella because he felt he was in charge of her as well as their
relationship. Yet it is because of the opportunities that he provided for her that Bella began to
understand society and the life she deserved, in the end wanting nothing more to do with
Duncan.
I truly found Bella to be an inspiration. She was never quiet, everything she did, she did it loudly.
She was never afraid to show everyone that she was still learning. Regardless of what she
thought she knew, there was always more to learn. Bella backed herself in everything she did.
Always asking why and tried everything twice, because why not?
Her unapologetic intrigue for the world is something that I myself can learn from, and I’m sure
many more could too.
As women we try so hard to slot quietly into spaces so as not to be bullied out of them. Bella
Baxter rarely took no for an answer, and when she did she twisted it to suit herself. She would
announce loudly to a room that she was now sitting at the head of the table because that’s where
she belonged.
I highly recommend you go see this film. It truly did make me fall in love with Bella and the
women around me because we really are so smart.