Poor Things

Christmas Day, Tom, Jack, Sharon and I saw Poor Things at the Cinemark Century Arden 14. It fits nicely into our annual trek to see all of the potential Oscar nominated films. The GoldDerby site has the film in the running for best picture, best actress, best supporting actor and best adapted screenplay nominations.

The movie was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It has also been nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Poor Things is a science fantasy black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. It is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray.

The film stars Emma Stone [The Favourite, La La Land, Birdman), Mark Ruffalo [Spotlight, Foxcatcher), Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Kathryn Hunter, Jerrod Carmichael, Hanna Schygulla, Margaret Qualley, and Vicki Pepperdine. Its plot focuses on a young Victorian woman who is resurrected by a scientist following her suicide. She runs off on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

I had some apprehension about the group seeing this movie. Sharon and Tom hated Everything Everywhere All At Once. With its cyberpunk aspects, I was worried that they would react negatively to this movie. They didn't; at dinner, both of them said that they enjoyed it. Sharon gave it a "7".

Visually, parts of the movie are interesting, particularly the scenes in Lisbon and onboard the cruise ship. Stone's performance is very good. There are some physical comedy aspects to the Stone's performance that she handles extremely well. I can see her winning the best actress Oscar. Given the competition, I don't think that the movie wins the best picture.

I enjoyed movie. I recommend it as long as you realize that you are getting a Frankenstein story with lots of nudity and sex...