Summary
- Poor Things is a highly anticipated darkly comedic reimagining of Frankenstein directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, with Emma Stone delivering a career-best performance as Bella Baxter.
- The movie received rave reviews at its premiere, with critics praising its raunchy content, shocking story, and hailing it as Lanthimos's best film yet.
- With a talented cast including Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe, the Poor Things release date delay due to strikes may work in its favor, allowing for word-of-mouth marketing and generating more buzz before its release.
Poor Things is the upcoming darkly comedic reimagining of the story of Frankenstein from director Yorgos Lanthimos, and there's already plenty of hype around the December 2023 release. A joint effort between Film4 and Searchlight Pictures, Poor Things entered pre-production in early 2021, and both the June 2023 trailer and early reviews have created plenty of conversations around the movie, especially star Emma Stone's performance as Bella Baxter. Poor Things is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray. The book follows a Victorian-era narrative that weaves many literary themes and tropes, in particular ideas from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to tell the story of Emma Stone's Bella and the scientist experimenting on her — Dr. Godwin Baxter, played by none other than Willem Defoe.
Like the Creature in Frankenstein, Bella is brought to life by scientific means, and her awakening in a brand-new world is the central story in Poor Things. The surreal story of Poor Things is perfectly suited to the filmmaker behind such absurdist films as The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Yorgos Lanthimos's movies are consistently incredible, and he's been deservedly nominated four times at the Academy Awards: once in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Dogtooth, once for Best Original Screenplay for The Lobster, and twice for his movie The Favorite for Best Picture and Best Director. Lanthimos is known for his stylish filmmaking and unnerving but surprisingly funny movies, and what's been revealed of Poor Things so far points towards the upcoming Emma Stone movie being another critical success in his filmography.
Poor Things Latest News
The latest Poor Things news is sure to make it one of the most anticipated movies of the upcoming awards season. Following its premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival, the first Poor Things reactions praised the movie as an awards-season-ready masterpiece. Specifically, critics and pundits praise the movie for its raunchy content and shocking story while calling it Yargos Lanthimos's best movie to date. Poor Things also reportedly received a rapturous standing ovation from the attending Venice Film Festival audience, which while anecdotal creates huge anticipation for the December 2023 release date regardless.
There's been a notable amount of specific call-outs in the reviews of Poor Things for the movie's lead, Emma Stone, and her performance as Bella Baxter. Many of the reactions declaring Emma Stone's Poor Things performance to be a career-best from the Oscar winner, and already establishes her as a front-runner as far as many critics are concerned for Best Actress at the next awards season. Stone has already won an Oscar for La La Land while she received nominations for Birdman and The Favourite. However, with so many critics calling her Poor Things performance bold and fearless, it seems like she is on her way to another nomination.
Poor Things Release Date
Poor Things will release on December 8, 2023. The movie was initially planned for a September 8, 2023 premiere. However, it joins several Disney delayed released due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Eventually Poor Things made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival to huge praise and early awards discussion, so the delay may actually be working in the movie's favor, creating plenty of time for word-of-mouth marketing to work its magic after the incredibly positive reviews.
Poor Things Cast
The Poor Things cast is arguably one of the most exciting aspects of the movie. Like many of Yorgos Lanthimos’s movies, Poor Things has a small but talented cast of characters. In the lead, Emma Stone (La La Land; The Amazing Spider-Man) plays Bella Baxter, a woman who is brought back from the dead. Lanthimos previously directed one of the best Emma Stone movies, The Favourite, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 91st Academy Awards.
Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers; Spotlight) plays Duncan Wedderburn, Bella's companion during her travels. Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man; The Lighthouse) plays the scientist behind her resurrection, Dr. Godwin Baxter. Dafoe will also reteam with Lanthimos in the upcoming And, which also features Stone. While the trio of Stone, Ruffalo, and Defoe working with Yorgos Lanthimos is more than enough to generate conversation, Poor Things also features an extensive and exciting supporting cast that includes:
- Jerrod Carmichael as Harry Astley
- Christopher Abbott as Sir Aubrey de la Pole Blessington
- Ramy Youssef as Max McCandless
- Kathryn Hunter as Swiney
- Wayne Brett as Priest
- Margaret Qualley as Felecity
- Suzy Bemba as Toinette
Who's Making Poor Things?
The Poor Things crew is headed by acclaimed Greek filmmaker Yargos Lanthimos who gained attention with early bold work like Dogtooth and followed it up with the quickly black comedy The Lobster. Lanthimos was nominated for best director for The Favourite. The Favourite also began his collaborative relationship with Emma Stone prior to Poor Things, who he will work with again in the upcoming And as well as a mystery movie they made during Poor Thing's production.
Emma Stone isn't the only familiar name for a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, as the director has also tapped some of his regular collaborators for the Poor Things creative team. The movie is written by Tony McNamara who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for The Favourite. McNamara is also the creator of the period comedy The Great and worked on the script of Stone's Disney project Cruella. Emma Stone also serves as a producer on Poor Things, showing her involvement with the creative development of Bella Baxter's story.
Where To Watch Poor Things
With Poor Things making its theatrical debut on December 8, 2023, viewers can expect streaming options to become available in February-March 2024. As Poor Things is made by Searchlight Pictures, a former Fox company now under the Disney umbrella, it will likely be available to stream on Disney+.
Poor Things Story Details
The Poor Things story may not adhere exactly to the 1992 novel, but the trailers and the official plot suggest the movie’s story will not stray too far. In this fantastical tale, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter, brings a young woman, Bella Baxter, back to life by giving her a new brain. Bella is suddenly thrust into a new world, absorbing everything all at once. Her desire to see all that the world has to offer sends her on a journey around the globe with Duncan Wedderburn, a man she runs off with along the way.
Completely free from any of the prejudices and expectations of her own time, the “newborn” Bella is steadfast in her pursuit of whatever she sets her mind to. Bella eventually comes to realize that what she's pursuing is justice, equality, and liberation — all things not so easily obtained. Searchlight Pictures have release and official plot synopsis for Poor Things, which reads:
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Poor Things Trailer
The first full-length Poor Things trailer is only 1 minute and 22 seconds long, but shows it may be Yorgos Lanthimos's most surreal and psychedelic movie yet. Through the trailer, Poor Things updates audiences about how Lanthimos' movie will tackle the novel's story. The trailer opens with a scene in black-and-white, a visual cue indicating it's a flashback to the time Bella was just created by Dr. Godwin Baxter - supported by Baxter's narration over the trailer. Baxter introduces Bella to Max McCandless (Ramy Youssef), who appears to be the first man who took the brunt of Bella's rough adjustment to being alive.
Notably, the face of Dafoe’s Baxter appears to be reconstructed in the Poor Things trailer, making him look like a creature out of Frankenstein, from which the novel takes many of its themes. "She's an experiment," narrates Baxter as Bella awkwardly interacts with people at social functions. "Her brain and body are not quite synchronized, but she's progressing at an accelerating pace." After Bella dances like a broken doll in black-and-white, the trailer cuts to a scene in color with Bella dancing much more confidently, then sitting passed out in a room surrounded by liquor bottles.
This is followed by a montage of Bella's creation. Juxtaposed with scenes of Baxter hitting a switch and Bella coming to life, there's a brief closeup of Bella's face, and a shot of her jumping off a balcony. This indicates that Poor Things will stay faithful to how Baxter created Bella by resurrecting a woman who committed suicide in the book. The Poor Things trailer then shows Bella in different places around the world wearing various extravagant outfits, each a reflection of where she is in her journey to experience everything life offers.
"I am Bella Baxter, and there is a world to enjoy, circumnavigate," narrates Bella. "It is the goal of all to progress, grow," she continues as the trailer cuts to different scenes of her traveling, making love, fighting, going on a cruise, and even helping drag an unconscious body across the room. These snippets of Bella's new life culminate in several scenes of Bella and Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), engaged in an extremely passionate love affair. Finally, the Poor Things trailer ends with Bella dramatically slapping Duncan. Offended, Duncan stares at Bella with an expression of pure shock, pausing for a moment before uttering the funniest line in the trailer: "Ow."
Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone receive the majority of the Poor Things trailer's screen time, playing off each other very well in what is sure to be a comical yet sad relationship. The set and production bounces between Victorian-era ballrooms and giant sandcastles in the middle of nowhere, to cities and cruise ships brimming with steampunk and solar punk-inspired tech. How these different worlds relate to each other is unclear, but Bella seems to see the world as more than black and white.
Laying over the top of the trailer is a music-box-like score that never rises or falls. It’s a playful but disconcerting tune that dances over Emma Stone’s dialogue and twirling movements. One thing is for sure: Poor Things will be continuing Lanthimos’ legacy of having incredible costumes in his movies. The Favourite was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and here, again, every outfit is unique and makes every moment eye-catching.