Poor Things (2023)
Visual spectacle of a generation.
Presentation:
"How much character do you want?" "Yes." The cinematography implements nearly all of Yorgos Lanthimos signature moves, ultra wides, fish eyes, zooms, this time with incomplete coverage lenses, tilt shift and radial blur from Petzval lenses. It’s honestly too distracting, I felt my eyes wandering all over the place. The color is rich and oversaturated by design with Ektachrome. Very quirky sets and lovely constumes that have an art deco flair, I think the production team deserves all the accolades. If Salvador Dali could shoot a film - A very unique experience mixing Frankenstein and maybe You Won’t Be Alone. The film clearly tries to fish for every Oscar category. Diversity. Sexual orientation. Female empowerment. To be honest it didn’t detract from the film and maybe enhanced the story. The quips on capitalism and socialism however were laughably forced. The story explores humanity and society through a coming of age tale. Emma stone is superb and Ruffalo is wonderfully awful. The film is quirky, funny and even endearing at times. Lots of sex and nudity, very cynical in tone.
Conclusion
Although this film is actually rife with “political” agendas, it doesn’t detract too much from what is at its core an exploration of freedom and finding humanity. And it’s done in a fun and weird way. You either hate this, love this or think it’s obnoxious. It’s not exactly a fantastic story but a showcase of talents. It’s still a unique experience nonetheless and different than anything you’ll experience from a film. I’d compare it to this generation’s Pan’s Labyrinth. It’s just far too exciting and will be a landmark in cinema, as Lanthimos does stretch the limits the storytelling here. The only reason critics don’t rate it higher is because there isn’t a substantial core drama to latch onto, focusing on themes instead. But if that stops you from enjoying this, then poor you.
Recommendations
Thematic literature enters the ring.