Poor Things

[Matt2112]

Saw this in a very sparsely attended screening at the Showcase.

Greek writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos turns his signature bizarro style to this adapted tale of a woman (Emma Stone) who has committed suicide being reanimated (although the premise is a fair bit more complicated and darker than that).

With obvious parallels to Frankenstein, this explores various ethical and philosophical themes, a fair portion of which concerns the voracious sexual appetite of Stone's lead character; these scenes leave virtually nothing to the imagination, so earning the 18 rating from the BBFC (which made cuts on the technicality that it showed minors in the same frame as adults who are performing sexually explicit acts (context is everything)).

This has often deliciously funny dialogue, remarkable production design and an outstanding, deservedly Oscar-nominated performance from Emma Stone.  Mark Ruffalo is also highly impressive in a scenery-chewing support role (also Oscar-nominated) and I'll always have time for Willem Defoe no matter what he's in.

So, it's all very impressive and admirable on many levels - yet I couldn't love it.  It's long at 140 minutes and seems it; despite the film's many qualities, it does drag a little, and I felt it was trying to cram in too many ideas at times - sometimes, less is more.

However, this hasn't been festooned with award nominations for nothing, and if you don't mind something a bit different, I'd recommend it.

Rating: ***