Poor Things Review

Watching the Color Purple and Wonka the same day as Poor Things was a very interest triple feature. While Wonka is a completely corporate product, both the Color Purple both felt like passion projects. However, the Color Purple felt like the makers really liked the original book and wanted to do it justice, while Poor Things feels like a someone had a story and world they needed to show the world.

What's The Movie About?

I honestly don't want to tell you anything about the movie. I saw very little before the movie came to theaters. It's kinda like if the Bride of Frankenstein was made by Doctor Moreau, then she runs away to become a prostitute and communist. That's only really cherry picking bits of the movie though, just go see it. 

What I Like.

The casting in this movie is perfect. Emma Stone as the lead is perfect as she's supposed to almost alien, but still bewitching. There's plenty of nudity as well, but all of it and the sex feels medical or disgusting. Which is a good thing I should clarify. Nothing about the movie feel exploitative or like the film makers were getting away with something they knew was wrong, just a frank description of the events that happen. It probably helps that there is a lot of talk of philosophy and the unspoken rules of society, which I found very interesting. Almost all of the characters are morally complex as well, although perhaps not nuanced. It felt more like the good characters want to be good but have a some vice or personality flaws that hold them back, and the more wicked characters had understandable motives and believable responses to the events. The world itself is also interesting. It's like steampunk Dr. Suess with mad science. I think it's a good sign if the setting makes me want a roleplaying game set in it. 

What I Don't Like.

My biggest complaint is that all the characters are multi-leveled with their morality until the very end. There is a somewhat sudden villain that is just straight up evil completely. I'm not complaining too much though because he has a very fitting fate at the end of the movie and it does wrap a few loose ends in the story. 

Final Summation.

This movie has the three things I love: Mad science, philosophical discussion, and gratuitous nudity of both sexes. Go see it just because you'll never see anything else like it. (Maybe, I've never seen anything else by Yorgos Lanthimos. It could be his thing.)