Emma Stone. © 2023 Searchlight Pictures, Film4, Element Pictures, and TSG Entertainment.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. VFA Nominee - 12 VFAs Including "Best Motion Picture"
For Your Consideration (FYC) Screener
This Ain't No Ordinary Frankenstein Story... Wacky, expressive, and darkly hilarious, Poor Things is an exceptional film that speaks on so many levels. It is a deeply thematic film that explores life from a whole different point of view while giving it purpose and open interpretations. Plus, with its steam-punk world-building and magical realism in its story, it allows the film to explore other ideas and subject matter that a "modern setting" film won't allow. It is a whole different type of film that you will love or be questioned by. Let's explore Victorian London and see what this wacky world is all about! Story: Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation. Throughout the majority of the film, the story is pure wackiness and all but there is an interesting theme that keeps its protagonist Bella Baxter, front and center of the message and its journey about the darkness of our society. A reflection of our actions, pleasures, emotions, and view of the world, all through the mind of Bella Baxter played by Emma Stone, gives us a deep potent look of self-discovery and gives us a feel of how we look through our current society. The wacky tone adds this magnetic feel to the overall look of the film but it doesn't shy away from its raunchy aspects through a meaningful message. Even with the wacky tone that the film delivers, it has a great Frankenstein spin to the story that takes risks while making it familiar and fresh. There is so much wackiness but it is consistent while adding subplots that expand the pure wackiness of the overall story. However, the character of Bella Baxter makes the film and the journey so out of this world but not in the innocent way you expected it to be. Probably a bit more but you get the point. I feared that Bella Baxter was going to be a bit of an annoying character from the trailers I saw but I was so deeply invested in her journey of discovery right when she left her home. Her journey develops more of a philosophical and emotional journey whereas the story takes a zany route, making her journey a bit more of a true discovery of reality and consequences. Emma Stone blends in so well with Bella Baxter's personality and character tone, which seamlessly fits the overall absurd tone of the story. Her discovery of the world and the way she interacts with the environment feels funny in nature. The way she interacts with others is like a baby but as an adult with some manners which is hilarious. At certain points, she acts more mature rather than Mark Ruffalo's character Duncan Wedderburn. Yet, Stone's physical performance gives more meaning to her progressive state of mind throughout the film and each scenario she presents adds a level of maturity and craziness. This progressive maturity doesn't apply to just Stone but also to his father and her friends, except Duncan which is a different case. Yet, all of those characters contribute to Bella Baxter's decisions and they give so much depth to the overall themes of the film. I loved Jerrod Carmichael's performance due to his philosophical character while Ruffalo's character Duncan is unhinged and desperate for some kind of love or something crazy. His character's downfall is hilarious and it gives Ruffalo to improvise and express his character even more. There is even one take where he breaks character but with the environment and tone of the scene including his character's personality, it feels natural in the end. Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, and Kathryn Hunter all give terrific performances and it feels like each character serves a piece of Baxter's personality. Her interaction with each character opens a new sense of discovery in her personal journey and allows the side characters to give meaningful messages while showing the reality of what this weird world has to offer. All of the characters don't feel out of place in this wacky world and they fit perfectly in where they interact with Bella Baxter which makes the story flow very smoothly. Speaking of the wacky world, Poor Things not only keeps the tone consistent but it's comedy as well.
The absurdity of the world of Poor Things is immaculate with chaos. I love the physical comedy mixed in with the writing. There are many moments where the characters just let their wackiness side take over them and everything starts going crazy. As I wrote earlier, Ruffalo is the stand-out with his unhinged actions and downfall which makes his personal story a tragic comedy. There is a lot of dark humor in this film that actually takes risks with its subject matter in the second act and it almost hits every beat. The world's design and buildings give a sense of unreality yet vividly real with the characters' interactions in this world. I'm glad that this film keeps everything consistent with its wacky comedy tone which makes the overall technicality of the filmmaking very creative.
Due to the nature of the story's wackiness and magical realism, the production work presented here is gorgeous and prolific. I'm glad that it won Oscars for production design, costumes, and make-up not just for its creativity, but for the complexity and absurdity of each production element that fits perfectly within Yorgos Lanthimos's direction. The amount of detail put into each town, home, room, and hall gives character while making it fit naturally into the environment. The cinematography is also very creative with its lens choices for each absurd moment including its usage of black and white. It looks like a mess for one second but with its majestic color grading, it sticks into your mind and lets the colors soak in. The score is also very solid and the editing choices here are effective, especially during the comedic moments. Overall, it is a fantastic technical production of a film. Yet, I still encounter some issues during my viewing. One of the biggest controversies is the overuse of sex scenes. While the messages do get across, the actual scenes become too repetitive and a bit disturbing. Even with Lanthimos's last films he made that included sexual elements, they were not overused and they were used well based on where the characters are in their state of mind or character arc. The pacing also could've been a bit tighter in the second act and it was intervened too much with the sex scenes. Even outside of the sex scenes, some scenes could've been shortened but other than that, the pacing overall was solid. Lanthimos' unique world of Poor Things is glamorous, wild, and unhinged. The philosophical elements and themes bring the absurdity of this world and ask interesting questions and answers about the craziness of society and love. The characters across the board are fantastic. Stone gives a crazy character performance while Ruffalo gives a sad and hilarious performance. The production elements are well-crafted and ultimately, the direction is very creative and it hits the right comedic and dramatic beats with its story. Overall, this is a fantastic film that will make you laugh and probably make you uncomfortable for the right reasons.
Now Streaming on Hulu and on VOD!
Vizeit Score: "A"
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Copyright © 2024 Vizeit Reviews / Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Editor In-Chief/Owner of Vizeit Reviews | (Chicago Indie Critics Member [CIC])
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Keri Russell and Jeremy T. Thomas. © 2021 Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, Phantom Four Films, and Double Dare You Productions. Directed by Scott Cooper.
Watched it on HBO Max (Written on Letterboxd)
Quick Review: This was quite an Interesting film. It’s a slow film that takes its time to explore the town and the weird elements of the film. I enjoyed the performances from Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons. The kid performance was decent at best but what really caught my attention was the monster itself. It’s very creepy and the VFX is absolutely amazing. On a closely mid-budget, it’s very well done and I loved the practical effects used on some of the kills and the monsters. The cinematography is amazing as well. I really loved the still environment and the coloring of the film. What really lacked in this film was the connection with the themes and supposedly real-life issues in the film. We get that a lot within the first half of the film and it was just mentioned once in the end. I didn’t feel any connection to it and the kid’s character was underwhelming. The story itself is interesting but the execution was very slow. The film’s pacing isn’t slow but something about the story itself doesn’t catch up until the monster starts to kill people. The main adult character’s backstory was just a sprinkle which helped the performance but it didn’t seem too advanced the character itself. It’s mostly with characters since it’s taking heavy subjects into a horror film but I wished they could’ve used that in connection with the monster. That could’ve worked so well and strengthened the theme. The lore itself is quite Interesting but it wasn’t mentioned again which I was disappointed. Technically in film terms, the film is very great but the story could’ve been tighter with its screenplay. The directing is very solid but there are some choices that I don’t like which dragged the film. But overall, it’s a solid monster film that could’ve been scarier but the ending was something else. It’s cool to see my boy Jesse Plemons in this film. He’s a great underrated actor. Now Streaming on HBO Max and VOD. Vizeit Score: "C+" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for your continue support.) Copyright © 2023. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. |
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