Supoor Things

Poor Things sees a mad scientist puts the brain of a baby into the body of a fully grown women, creating the insatiably curious Bella Baxter who we follow as she learns about the world through interactions with various memorable characters and lots of "furious jumping."

Don't let the simple plot fool you into thinking there isn't much going on, everything is going on. It shares something in common with many of director Yorgos Lanthimos other works, an overbearing father figure (Dogtooth), examination of relationships (The Lobster), period setting (The Favourite) but he and screenwriter Tony McNamara have fashioned something completely unique from Alistair Gray's 1992 novel.

The look of the film is extraordinary, somewhere between Steampunk and a renaissance painting. Each part of the film has it's own distinct look and from bizarre animal hybrids to watercolour skylines there is always something new drawing the eye. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan's visuals create a fantastical yet tangible world and tell the story of Bella's social and intellectual development as clearly as the story. A bombastic, jarringly off kilter score compliments the aesthetics perfectly.

The stellar design is matched by an incredible cast at the top of their game. Willem Dafoe is both Dr Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster as Godwin Baxter, the creator of Bella and himself a patchwork of pieces as a result of experiments by his own father. Even with his striking looks and unusual dining habits (he burps up a huge bubble at the end of every meal as a result of a machine that helps him eat) he is one of the more subtle characters in the film. At the other end of the scale is Mark Ruffalo's rakish cad Duncan Wedderburn. It's an extraordinary performance as Ruffalo shoots for the moon and ends up nearer Jupiter as the womanising fop. Whether informing Bella she has just been "thrice fucked by the very best" or visibly losing his mind as he realises the object of his desire's free spirit dwarfs his own he entertains every minute he is on screen.

Best performance of all though is lead actress Emma Stone. From barely able to walk, single minded infant through to hardened, academic curiosity she sells every stage of Bella's development with insight and nuance. It's a role that could easily have devolved into pantomime but Stone makes it one of the best turns of the past year.

Any negatives? The final part of the plot feels a little shoe horned in. Dealing with your past is indeed part of life but the section isn't given enough time to feel fully fleshed out and, given it ends up having no real bearing on where we end up, doesn't stand up to the other parts of Bella's adventures. Even here though, there's enough invention, insight and entertainment to stand head and shoulders above most other films.

Overall, Poor Things is fish-eyed explosion of imagination and observation, powered by incredible acting. It cements Yorgos Lanthimos place as Hollywood's premier absurdist and serves as proof Emma Stone is one of the best actors working today.

9 goat brains in the bodies of sadistic former husbands out of 10.

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