Poor Things: it’s worth an Oscar!

A cura di Ludovica Ruggeri* e di Maria Vittoria Grandi*

As a friend said right after the screening: “This must be the beginning of a new era of fantasy movies”.

Poor Things is the latest film by Yorgos Lanthimons, starring an astonishing Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Ruffalo.

Set in Victorian London, a woman, Bella Baxter was resuscitated as a newborn and we follow her growth and discovery of the world.

This movie grew on me: at first, I was sometimes horrified, then quite bored but in the end completely immersed into Bella’s universe that I even lost track of time.

As I see it, Poor Things is obviously about Bella’s self-discovery (and acceptance) first through her body and then more deeply through her mind. Then is a touching story about a unique father-daughter relationship between her, the monster, and Dr. God Baxter, the new Dr. Frankenstein. Only at the end, did I realize that it’s the story of women’s empowerment, stepping out of social construct and more importantly, taking distance from male control and oppression.

This movie is not just incredible actors and great direction but a real work of art in terms of costumes and set design. The amazing job of Holly Waddington (costume design) reflected Bella’s growth starting with her puffy shoulder dresses indicating her childhood era and ending with corsets that represent her strong woman personality.

A huge thank goes to Shona Heath and James Price who created the perfect and most out-of-this-world sets that hosted this story.

* (studentessa al Politecnico di Milano ed ex studentessa del Gregorio da Catino)

* (studentessa di design e cinematografia al NABA di Milano)