Movie: Poor Things
Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2023 8:54 am
I'm not very good at writing reviews for the more...esoteric...movies but since I don't see a post on here yet, let me give you my one word review: Overwhelming.
Visually and audibly overwhelming in the first point. What a unique and fascinating world this film takes place in. Visually, once the story moves out in to the larger world, it becomes very reminiscent of Bioshock: Infinite.
Audibly, the score is grating and disconcerting which constantly puts the viewer ill at ease. Unfortunately, they had the volume up a little bit too high in our theater and it went from disconcerting to downright painful at times.
I admit, I have not seen the other films by this director, Yorgos Lanthimos, but his previous films got a lot of praise and I can see why. At times the viewer feels a bit like an outsider watching events unfold, particularly in the first act which is black and white and often filmed using a fish-eye lens.
Willem DaFoe was brilliant, of course, as the Frankensteinian Dr. who, in this case, looks more like the traditional monster than does his "progeny."
Mark Ruffalo, who I wouldn't normally consider a scene chewer practically feasts on every scene he's in.
Emma Stone....wow. I'm not the type to toss around phrases like Oscar worthy but in this case, yeah, she was amazing in what I imagine was a very difficult role growing from, no spoilers, where she starts the movie into the woman she becomes by the end.
Definitely not a film for the prudish as it is vivid in its exploration of sexuality: the fun, the beautiful, and the ugly as well as the cold brutality of a world that is not what we would like it to be.
The soft-Steampunk aesthetic makes for a remarkable and beautiful backdrop to this exploration of female empowerment and discovery of the wider world, warts and all.
Definitely recommended as the wife and I are still discussing it the next morning.
Visually and audibly overwhelming in the first point. What a unique and fascinating world this film takes place in. Visually, once the story moves out in to the larger world, it becomes very reminiscent of Bioshock: Infinite.
Audibly, the score is grating and disconcerting which constantly puts the viewer ill at ease. Unfortunately, they had the volume up a little bit too high in our theater and it went from disconcerting to downright painful at times.
I admit, I have not seen the other films by this director, Yorgos Lanthimos, but his previous films got a lot of praise and I can see why. At times the viewer feels a bit like an outsider watching events unfold, particularly in the first act which is black and white and often filmed using a fish-eye lens.
Willem DaFoe was brilliant, of course, as the Frankensteinian Dr. who, in this case, looks more like the traditional monster than does his "progeny."
Mark Ruffalo, who I wouldn't normally consider a scene chewer practically feasts on every scene he's in.
Emma Stone....wow. I'm not the type to toss around phrases like Oscar worthy but in this case, yeah, she was amazing in what I imagine was a very difficult role growing from, no spoilers, where she starts the movie into the woman she becomes by the end.
Definitely not a film for the prudish as it is vivid in its exploration of sexuality: the fun, the beautiful, and the ugly as well as the cold brutality of a world that is not what we would like it to be.
The soft-Steampunk aesthetic makes for a remarkable and beautiful backdrop to this exploration of female empowerment and discovery of the wider world, warts and all.
Definitely recommended as the wife and I are still discussing it the next morning.
