Weird, warped and surreal to its very core
In a twisted semi-reimagining of Frankenstein, Poor Things sees Victorian woman Bella Baxter crudely reanimated after her untimely death by putting a child’s brain in her head. Once she is whisked away with a sleazy lawyer on a trip around the world, the naïve Bella begins to experience everything for the first time.
Much more wholesome-sounding in its premise than its execution, Poor Things is weird, warped and surreal to its very core - from its deranged concept, to its changing colour palette, sometimes black-and-white and sometimes dripping like a watercolour painting, even to the all-American cast performing with off-kilter British accents. Emma Stone leaves it all on the screen and Mark Ruffalo provides some laughs, despite being a bastard.
Its strangeness and lack of inhibitions will make Poor Things a film that is not to everyone’s taste, especially with its 2-hour-20-minute runtime that feels more like a 3-hour slow-burn, but its artistry and bizarre performances make it an interesting watch if nothing else.
Rating: 7/10