POOR THINGS
Credit: Disney
Yorgos Lanthimos has become one of the most amazing and immediate voices in modern cinema over the last few years. His latest endeavour reunites him with Emma Stone, his lead actress from the Oscar-winning The Favourite and delivers a bizarrely beautiful fairytale and utterly madcap adventure conjured up from the breathlessly inventive minds of writers Tony McNamara and Alasdair Gray.
The plot involves a renowned but unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who brings a woman back to life who was left for dead. Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) has a mysterious past, and the exact circumstance of her untimely demise and current existence is shrouded in mystery. One of Goodwin’s students Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) volunteers to help him with observing Bella’s evolution. It soon becomes apparent that as she begins to grow as a person, Bella’s thirst for life will take her out of the confines of Dr Goodwin’s mansion and into the real world. Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo shine in this, both delivering superb performances that could easy pick up some statues this awards season. A curious and delightfully odd joy of a film.