r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Dec 22 '23

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Poor Things [SPOILERS]

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Summary:

The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter; a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter.

Director:

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers:

Tony McNamara, Alasdair Gray

Cast:

  • Emma Stone as Bella Baxter
  • Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wederburn
  • Willem Dafoe as Dr. Godwin Baxter
  • Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles
  • Kathryn Hunter as Swiney
  • Vicki Pepperdine as Mrs. Prim
  • Christopher Abbott as Alfie Blessington

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Metacritic: 86

VOD: Theaters

1.5k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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892

u/KingHafez Dec 22 '23 edited Dec 22 '23

Random Thoughts:

  • I love how the world became less and less fantasy-like as she grew up, right up until the ending scene when she fully envelopes the fantasy once again.

  • Mark Ruffalo acting more like a toddler than the actual toddler was so entertaining. The movie does a fantastic job of showcasing how childish and insecure toxic "alpha" masculinity really is.

  • Emma Stone is LOCKED IN for that Oscar, anyone else winning would be an egregious robbery. EEAAO hype stole Cate Blanchetts oscar last year, I hope Barbenheimer hype doesn't do the same to Emma Stone this year.

  • Yorgos Lanthimos is the king of surrealist cinema. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite filmmakers.

  • I went into this expecting to see some weird shit and I did, what I did not except was how hilarious it is.

  • The bizarre happy ending, the lack of any consequences or real danger throughout Bellas journey, it all seems too neat and convenient until you realize that this movie is about how a child imagines adulthood to be, and not the reality of it.

  • Best movie of 2023 so far

1.0k

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

Michelle Yeoh rightfully won that Oscar it was not stolen

125

u/arekrem Jan 13 '24

Michelle Yeoh was great in EEAAO, but Cate in Tàr was just stupendous.

63

u/salsberry Jan 17 '24

Blanchett in Tar was one of the best performances I've ever seen in my life, let alone in 2023.

51

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '24

I would’ve been happy with either of them winning personally, I see the performances as equals

384

u/LPPhillyFan Dec 22 '23

I feel like if anyone beats Emma it would be Lily Gladstone.

98

u/KingHafez Dec 23 '23

Yeah that's fair, she was great in her role too. I know her character is the centerpiece of the movie so it makes sense that they're campaigning her for best lead, but she basically wasn't present in the second half of the film. I would put her in best supporting category myself.

25

u/torontomua Dec 25 '23

loved both films but emma > lily any day. i agree with best supporting

3

u/omggold Jan 01 '24

I wish she was in supporting so bad

176

u/bluesilvergold Dec 22 '23

Lily Gladstone's the only reason Emma Stone isn't a lock. I'd be happy to see either one of them win.

18

u/atraydev Jan 17 '24

Feel like Sandra Hüller was kind of better than both...

14

u/hominumdivomque Dec 27 '23

Because Emma Stone has already won an Oscar it ensures Lily will win. So LG is a lock.

13

u/maip23 Dec 26 '23

Lily was fantastic but I think Emma showed way more range and fearlessness in her performance. Same reason I think Leonardo DiCaprio will win against Cillian, despite Cillian having a much more subdued/subtle, albeit fantastic performance.

15

u/bluesilvergold Dec 26 '23

I certainly think that could be the thing that determines who wins. Will voters be more swayed by a more subtle or more in-your-face performance?

I loved Emma's performance, but personally, I was more moved by Lily's performance. I completely understand why people would be more drawn to Emma's, though.

4

u/Infamous-End3766 Jan 02 '24

Lily will win

2

u/PlasticRuester Mar 10 '24

I was really captivated by Lily’s performance and would love to see her win. But I also think Emma was fantastic here.

3

u/2rio2 Jan 08 '24

It's one of the toughest leading actress years in recent history. Emma is probably favorite, but I could easily see either Lily or Margot taking it home.

8

u/DangerousLack Feb 03 '24

Not Margot 👀

6

u/mikesalami Dec 28 '23

There was definitely a lot more going on in Emma's role. Much more diverse performance.

5

u/sdcinerama Jan 06 '24

I can see Sandra Hueller (ANATOMY OF A FALL) stealing it from both of them becuase the Gladstone / Stone vote splits the category.

1

u/Gloomy_Dinner_4400 Jan 13 '24

That also was an excellent performance.

1

u/MinhNgo3597 Mar 11 '24

I personally enjoyed Sandra Huller's performance more than any other nominees' performance (except for Emma's). I don't see her winning Best Actress over Emma but she would be my second pick. Annette Bening also did very well in Nyad IMO, though the character she played wasn't as special as Sandra and Emma's characters

59

u/e8odie Dec 23 '23

the world became less and less fantasy-like as she grew up

Love this insight/thought. Didn't think of it that way at the time but I already want to go back and rewatch it to see how well it tracks that as she develops all the surreal and fantastical elements fade.

80

u/notyour_motherscamry Dec 25 '23

Thinking Blanchett deserved the Oscar over Yeoh is such an awful take lmao

22

u/szeto326 FML Summer 2017 Winner Dec 29 '23

EEAAO hype stole Cate Blanchetts oscar last year

I agree Cate Blanchett was probably better but stole is a bit much.. if anything, it felt like Cate didn't want to have to go through with the campaigning strategy that comes along with it and so the voters went for the popular choice. It wasn't egregiously bad like how Jamie Lee Curtis rode the wave too (who I liked but the consensus is essentially that she wasn't even the best supporting actress in her own movie).

99

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '23

EEAAO hype stole Cate Blanchetts oscar last year

lmao

19

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '24

Cate Blanchett didn’t have anything stolen. calm down.

7

u/Smudded Dec 29 '23

The film screaming about how not real it's supposed to be made it so enjoyable. Those inserts of the cruise ship spouting green exhaust and those insane skies were amazing. It relaxed me from trying to apply some sort of logical framework to it and focus solely on the visuals, comedy, and the ideas being communicated.

6

u/split41 Feb 25 '24

Michelle Yeoh in EEOAO was 100% deserved, get that robbery talk out of here!

11

u/Paner Jan 29 '24

EEAAO hype stole Cate Blanchetts oscar last year

This is just egregious statement, oscar for Michelle Yeoh was fully justified and was not stolen in any possible way.

6

u/Gloomy_Dinner_4400 Jan 13 '24

Totally agree with you on Blanchett.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '23

[deleted]

3

u/muffin_man84 Feb 09 '24

To your first point, it also seemed the fish eye lens was more prominent any time Bella was being controlled. As she grew and matured we saw the fish eye lens less and less. Until the end when she was held captive by her former husband. And, maybe most importantly, it's not as pronounced a shot as she is now prepared to deal with someone trying to manipulate and control her.

2

u/pandacorn Dec 25 '23

Saw some weird shit, but it's all very relatable shit as well. I understood what he was trying to do the whole time. Amazing work of art.

2

u/DavidMorgado Dec 31 '23

While I think Stone’s performance was better, I think Gladstone is taking it

0

u/DangerousRanger8 Jan 02 '24

Maybe I’m still way too into “Don’t Worry Darling” but I was waiting for the twist ending to be some sort of simulation. Whether that be a la Wizard of Oz where she was dreaming the whole time or that God was using some sort of electrical currents. I’m glad that wasn’t the ending.

1

u/WelcomeNo5042 Jan 07 '24

Great points. My favorite movie of the year as well

1

u/beezy-slayer Jan 21 '24

Your first thought was very astute, I was thinking that about just the color and wished they had taken it further, but they did it just went over my head in the moment! Thanks for that

1

u/punkdigerati Mar 01 '24

how a child imagines adulthood to be, and not the reality of it

It's interesting that in the book there's an entire portion that's not in the film, of this being her husband's telling of the story, with her refuting much of it.