Yorgos Lanthimos films are always a tangled knot of provocations. The filmmaker came out of the Greek Weird Wave, and the years have not faded the weirdness in his works. Lanthimos’s newest and biggest film to date, Poor Things, is as unwieldy and playful as what first earned Lanthimos international recognition. So, of course, the question must be asked: when the Victorian dust has settled, what is Poor Things about?
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What is Poor Things about?
Poor Things Plot
At 142 minutes, Poor Things boasts a long and winding narrative which spans much of the European continent. Let’s do a quick breakdown of what happens over the runtime of the film.
The film takes place in an alternate universe version of Victorian London. It opens on the mad scientist Godwin Baxter, whose unique visage and approach to science makes him the target of ridicule from all but medical student Max McCandles.
Godwin and Bella • What is Poor Things about?
McCandles agrees to become Baxter’s assistant on a secretive project Baxter is working on. The project: raising a young woman with the brain of a child. More specifically: raising a young woman who has the brain of her child. Godwin retrieved this woman after she died leaping from a bridge, and gave her the brain of the child she was carrying.
Bella under the knife • What is Poor Things about summary
Max is slightly perturbed by this, but not enough to dissuade him from asking the young woman, named Bella, to marry him. Bella accepts, but as she learns more about the world around her (particularly sexually), she decides to run away from her and Baxter’s home.
She pairs up with Duncan Wedderbun, a lawyer and deviant. The two have a grand old time with each other as they trounce around Lisbon. But the good times sour quickly as Bella begins to become more autonomous. Wedderbun grows resentful and angry, and Bella ditches him to become a prostitute in France.
Poor Things stills • What happens in Poor Things?
In the brothel, Bella learns more about the world, including its unfairness and the existence of socialism. Her new vocation comes to an end when Max finds her and informs her that Baxter is dying. Bella returns home to bid Baxter a final farewell, and she and Max finally settle on a date for marriage.
But it’s a false conclusion, as Bella is confronted by her husband from a former life (when she threw herself off a bridge). She is momentarily forced to return to this husband, but after he proves himself to be an evil man, Bella escapes. At long last, Bella lives happily ever after as a surgeon with Max by her side.
What is Poor Things about?
Poor Things Explained
As you can likely tell from the synopsis (and it left a lot of elements out), Poor Things has a lot going on. But what exactly does any of it mean?
The most obvious theme in the film is the subjugation women are forced to endure from men. Characters like Duncan are attracted to Bella because of her looks and her willingness to go along with whatever they say. Then, once Bella develops a mind of her own, Duncan becomes insecure and angry.
Duncan in all his wickedness • Poor Things movie meaning
This theme is hit on again and again throughout the narrative. Nearly every man Bella encounters wants to control her (except for Harry Astley, whom Bella meets on the ferry). Godwin bars her from leaving his home, Max discourages her from sleeping with other men, Duncan just wants her to be his toy, and her husband Alfie does all of the above.
Bella, meanwhile, embarks on a journey of self-actualization and discovery. She is a stand-in who allows the audience to see the world through fresh eyes.
Because she isn’t trained in the customs and norms of the society she’s thrust into, she can call them out frankly as immoral or nonsensical.
Poor Things writing
Poor Things Screenplay
Let’s take a look at how these themes manifest in the script for Poor Things, written by Tony McNamara and based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray.
The themes are arguably most evident in Bella’s exchanges with Duncan. Take a look at this conversation, which we imported into StudioBinder’s screenwriting software:
Poor Things script PDF • What is the premise of Poor Things
This dialogue occurs once Duncan and Bella’s relationship is in freefall. Duncan has brought Bella onto a ship to trap her (though he denies this is his intent).
The conversation here highlights the harmful gender norms Poor Things is satirizing. Duncan proposes to marry Bella, but it is clear this is less out of love and more out of the need to control her.
When Bella expresses disinterest in the idea, Duncan threatens to throw her overboard. If he can’t have her, no one will. It’s a distillation of the insidious perception men can have as women: they are objects to be possessed.
On the boat • How does Poor Things end?
McNamara uses Bella’s clear-eyed frankness to sum up the situation aptly: “So you wish to marry me, or kill me?” In this context, the two proposals are not so contradictory.
Poor Things explained
Poor Things Filmmaking
Poor Things also uses visual filmmaking techniques to add a finer point to its themes and subject matter. First, there is Yorgos Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan’s unique visual palette.
The two utilize bright colors and ultra-wide lenses to portray turn-of-the-century Europe in a way we’ve never seen before. Like with Bella, the audience is seeing this familiar context with fresh eyes.
This allows for the absurdity of situations to be more clearly emphasized. Bella’s dance with Duncan, for example, becomes a dynamic and explosive piece of filmmaking, in stark contrast to the stodgy dance scenes that are in so many films taking place in the Victorian era.
Poor Things dance scene • Why is the movie called Poor Things?
Then there are the costumes. Costume designer Holly Waddington bucked traditional Victorian norms to create outfits that fit much better with the film’s themes.
“All of us agreed at the beginning that this woman would never wear a corset,” Waddington explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“She would not be put in bondage or have her body forced into a particular shape. It just felt conceptually wrong for a film that’s got a feminist message that we do that.”
Instead, Waddington opted for eye-popping and playful costume designs, emphasizing Bella’s disregard for societal norms as well as her childlike mental state.
Poor Things costume design • What year is Poor Things set in
Related Posts
Through screenplay, direction, costume design, and more, Poor Things delivers a treatise on gender relations that is far from stuck in the Victorian Era. For fans of Yorgos Lanthimos, this is a film which doesn’t disappoint.
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