Tony McNamara wrote and adapted “Poor Things” from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name. The film immediately embraces its weirdness, using prosthetics, costumes, meticulous production design, and bold cinematography to create a world of calculated dissonance. The character Baxter, much like Frankenstein’s monster, has a face that looks like it was chopped into ragged pieces and stitched back together by a nearsighted tailor with exacting precision.
The main character, Bella, experiences a change in fortune thanks to two suitors, McCandless and Duncan Wedderburn. She embarks on an episodic adventure that expands her horizons and leads to her intellectual and moral development. The movie’s overall arc evokes an old-school picaresque, and while Bella experiences pleasure in her own liberation, the movie’s eccentricity may become wearing over time.
Ruffalo’s and Dafoe’s performances are precise and refined, creating deeper characters than the dialogue alone suggests. However, as the story stalls and the showy details continue without relief, the cumulative effect becomes overwhelming.
Poor Things
Rated R for nudity, sex, evisceration and scientific malfeasance. Running time: 2 hours 21 minutes. In theaters.