Poor Things (2023) *****

 

Based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, “Poor Things” is a remarkable exploration of feminism and social mores through the conceit of a sort of Frankenstein's monster named Bella (Emma Stone). Willem Dafoe plays Dr. Godwin Baxter, who calls himself God for short. He has perfected Victorian-era surgical techniques to the point where he has grafted the head of a duck onto the body of a dog and created other hybrid creatures reminiscent of “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” Godwin gets access to the body of a young, pregnant woman who has just died by suicide. In a ruthlessly amoral experiment, he takes the brain of her unborn child and implants it into her body, which he re-animates, naming the result “Bella.”

We meet Bella as a mental toddler, uncoordinated and without speech. In a grown body, however, her brain matures rapidly. She soon develops sexual feelings, and is delighted to discover the ability to “make happy when I want.” An unethical rake of a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) discovers Bella, and, enticed by such unrestrained sexuality in the body of a beautiful woman, whisks her off to the continent for a few weeks of sexual debauchery. As Bella matures through the stages of adolescence and young adulthood, however, she proves too much for the lawyer.

Bella moves beyond her obsession with sex to develop an interest in philosophy and books, hoping to improve herself and the world. That's a big theme of the story, whether someone can intentionally make themselves a better person. We eventually learn that Bella's mother had been married to a cruel man and was not a great person, herself. Indeed, Bella displays cruel tendencies in her youth, but she finds in herself a desire for self-improvement.

The story really isn't about Bella, it is about all of us. With her unique circumstance, growing up in an unconventional household and doing so very quickly, Bella is a person untainted by social expectations and conventions. Whether she is whoring herself out, experimenting with lesbianism, or simply rejecting the efforts of all the men in her life to control her, Bella does everything with a refreshing innocence. She was never taught that she had to submit to others or be ashamed of her body, and she reaches mental maturity so quickly that no one has the chance to pound those ideas into her brain.

The title, “Poor Things,” might refer to Bella, Godwin, and their bizarre household. It might refer to the poor underclass whom Bella discovers and wishes to help. Or, it might refer to all of us, hung up as we are on sexual shame and social niceties, wishing we could be free like Bella.

5 stars out of 5