Film No. 98 POOR THINGS (2023). 28th Dec.

 

Film No. 98  (2023)  December 28th.  3:00 PM  EVENT CINEMAS, Cine 7,  Innaloo.

"Her brain and and her body are not quite synchronized" (Dr Baxter explains to Max, that Bella is a work in progress).

WINNER: Bronze Frog (Robbie Ryan) Camerimage. WINNER: Best Actress (Emma Stone) Las Vegas Film Critics Award.

Salvador Dali would surely have admired the pallet of POOR THINGS. Scene after scene could have been extracted from a Dali canvas. But this is just one of the impressive elements that go to make up 2023's most unique film.

POOR THINGS is a film with such rich visuals, dialogue, and themes. A second viewing is essential - but only if you liked what you saw the first time. It's only been hours since my viewing. I'm processing it still, but questions linger. Did I miss something on the odd occasion?

Bella Baxter, is as much an Emma Stone formulation, as a Dr Baxter (Willem Dafoe) creation. But there is nothing scary about Bella; shocking certainly, but never scary. The shock factors revolve around her sexual exploits, and while sexually explicit, Bella is using her comeliness to grow and learn about the world around her. The reason she is so childlike in the beginning is revealed later. It is an important reveal! 

What do the previous two paragraphs mean? Little, from a storyline POV. And to recommend POOR THINGS as a must see film would be inviting trouble, but if you prefer your films to be extraordinary, unique, even odd, but completely fascinating, then don't miss this offering by Yorgos Lanthimos (THE LOBSTER, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER).  10GUMS.