Poor Things reviews

[danfrank]

I liked it too, though perhaps slightly less than I was hoping to. Somehow this seemed less subversive or edgy than his previous films, though of course it’s still completely wacky. Maybe it’s because the mad scientist thing has been done so many times before. I also thought it meandered a bit in the middle. There are great things in it, including all the visuals (I would love to see this win art direction) and the performances of Ruffalo and especially Stone. Great casting in this film. I also liked the depiction of sexuality and the natural development of a feminist consciousness. I’m a big Lanthimos fan so my hopes were very high. This is a very good and enjoyable film, but doesn’t quite reach “great” status for me.

[Okri]

Yeah, I liked it a lot. Fun to see with an audience - they clearly didn't know what to expect. I want to see it again to see if the post-wedding scenes really hold up [to my understanding, the only wholly invented section]. Lanthimos' Lisbon resembles Fassbinder's Brest, which I found delightful. And the cast! Just a remarkable film.

[Reza]

The easy descriptive for Emma Stone in this film is "fearless." This feels as much of a career-defining role as Cate Blanchett in Tár. Watching both, I thought to myself "There's no way she can lose the Oscar for this." So, congratulations Lily Gladstone.

....and then we all watch as Carey Mulligan snatches the award

[Sabin]

I'll write more later this weekend but it's a big swing and a really good time. I'm (once again) sorting through if I just really liked this film or loved it and I think some of that is due to the fact that what I loved so much about The Favourite is that it felt like a reasonably tight BBC film directed by a fucking lunatic whereas this film is just constant lunacy from the get-go which I occasionally found exhausting. But it's still very much my shit. It's like an art house graphic novel adaptation with a budget, which will be a turnoff for some. Not me.

The easy descriptive for Emma Stone in this film is "fearless." This feels as much of a career-defining role as Cate Blanchett in Tár. Watching both, I thought to myself "There's no way she can lose the Oscar for this." So, congratulations Lily Gladstone.

[Big Magilla]

Really surprised by this one.

I never saw Emma Stone as a two-time Oscar winner but these reviews sound like maybe she will be. Nominations Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Costume Design all seem likely with Best Director a strong maybe.

[Sabin]

Mister Tee wrote
ON EDIT: And, from these reactions, hard to believe Lanthimos could be left out of the directing slate at AMPAS. Making it as competitive a year as I can recall.

We're also looking at quite a few contenders with double-digit nominations. Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things... maybe Barbe if it goes over.

[Mister Tee]

Looking more closely at the reviews, this will clearly be in contention for critics' best picture prizes, and Stone seems at Blanchett-in-Tar/sweep-critics'-best-actress-awards level.

ON EDIT: And, from these reactions, hard to believe Lanthimos could be left out of the directing slate at AMPAS. Making it as competitive a year as I can recall.

[Mister Tee]

Multiple reviews added below. All enthusiastic about the film, and best personal reviews of Emma Stone's career.

[Sabin]

I want to see this so much.

[Mister Tee]

And the hits just keep on coming.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235579912/

https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/mov ... 234901594/

https://variety.com/2023/film/festivals ... 235710477/

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/poo ... 80.article

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/s ... gdnculture