Confused (for the first half hour or so), moved, charmed - that's how I can describe my emotions while watching 'Poor Things' by Yorgos Lanthimos. He's definitely a "twisted mind," overindulging in the fisheye effect, but that doesn't detract from the film's brilliance.
In short, Willem Dafoe is someone like Dr. Frankenstein, who even physically resembles the doctor's creation from the classic films. Here, he has created... Emma Stone - a beautiful woman with a baby's brain transplanted into her, and she's just starting to explore the world. The first part is quite dark, black and white, repellent, often resorting to the mentioned fisheye. Everything changes when the heroine awakens her sexual sensuality and begins to experience reality through it. Suddenly, the film becomes richly colorful and even funny. Throughout, it maintains its intelligent humor, shining in every scene, with the main focus being the questioning the postulates of the world surrounding the characters (something like the end of the 19th or early 20th century, but with many elements of steampunk) through the unburdened consciousness of a child in a woman's body.
I generally have reservations about Lanthimos's aesthetics, often crossing certain boundaries. And it's present here, but in moderate doses, mainly in the beginning. But the fact that I was charmed by the film despite my reservations should speak even more. I believe it should win not only the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival but also any Golden Globes, Oscars, or whatever else is up to be grabbed this season. And Emma Stone, too. Definitely a 10/10 rating, which I don't give that often.
In short, Willem Dafoe is someone like Dr. Frankenstein, who even physically resembles the doctor's creation from the classic films. Here, he has created... Emma Stone - a beautiful woman with a baby's brain transplanted into her, and she's just starting to explore the world. The first part is quite dark, black and white, repellent, often resorting to the mentioned fisheye. Everything changes when the heroine awakens her sexual sensuality and begins to experience reality through it. Suddenly, the film becomes richly colorful and even funny. Throughout, it maintains its intelligent humor, shining in every scene, with the main focus being the questioning the postulates of the world surrounding the characters (something like the end of the 19th or early 20th century, but with many elements of steampunk) through the unburdened consciousness of a child in a woman's body.
I generally have reservations about Lanthimos's aesthetics, often crossing certain boundaries. And it's present here, but in moderate doses, mainly in the beginning. But the fact that I was charmed by the film despite my reservations should speak even more. I believe it should win not only the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival but also any Golden Globes, Oscars, or whatever else is up to be grabbed this season. And Emma Stone, too. Definitely a 10/10 rating, which I don't give that often.
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