I have a problem with Poor Things
#reviews 3 min.
Photo by Nikita Pishchugin on Unsplash
Warning: major spoilers ahead.
Before I dig in, I still very much enjoyed the movie. The cinematography, set and costume design, and actor performances were terrific. It was just the right combination of weird, funny, and macabre. In one word—refreshing.
Now, onto the problematic part.
In essence, this is a coming-of-age story, except the main character, Bella (Emma Stone), is a toddler, and everyone else is an adult predator.
Filmmakers try to mask this by establishing that “she develops at an accelerated pace” for some reason. See, it’s okay, she’s not really a child.
Except that we see Bella discover her sexuality right after being sedated for having a typical toddler tantrum. By the middle of the movie, she’s had sex with multiple men yet still walks like a child. By the film’s end, she still cannot write well, suggesting she cannot be much older than an early teenager.
My main issue is her portrayal as having total agency, even though, mentally, she’s a toddler. We are supposed to believe that nothing bad ever happens to her, no rape, no violence. Even when we know that in real life, children and mentally ill people are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse.
Even if something bad happens off-screen (“some men enjoy that you do not like it,” as told by the brothel madame), we see no consequences. Bella either shugs it off or treats it as a fascinating learning experience.
I wasn’t abused as a child myself, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.
I’ve seen some interviews with filmmakers, and they emphasized that sexual exploration is just part of Bella’s journey. Sure, we also see her read books, briefly discuss philosophy, and supposedly attend socialist meetings. Most of these feel shallow and either don’t lead anywhere or merely move the plot along. The majority of Bella’s supposed “maturing” happens through sexual exploration, or at least along with it.
Even characters who don’t have an explicit sexual interest in Bella are still horrible people. Godwin (William Dafoe), Bella’s father figure, tries his best to isolate her from the world yet fails to protect her from an obvious predator, Duncan (Mark Ruffalo). Max (Ramy Youssef), supposedly the most decent of them, is an enabler and voyeur.
It’s telling that they needed to introduce a whole new cartoon-level villain in the third act to make every other male character seem better in comparison. As if winking to the audience, “See, it could’ve been worse.”
I feel any empowering or feminist messages this movie tried to communicate are muddled by simply ignoring the topics of sexual abuse and trauma. I don’t think suspension of disbelief is enough here. You cannot have one without the other. Especially when there are better examples of exploring similar controversial topics with much more nuance.
You can feel the difference when a director shows something for the audience’s benefit to help get the point across. That’s called good filmmaking.
Equally, you can feel when they indulge and include something for their benefit, voyeuristic pleasure, or whatever else. I feel like there was some of that going on here.
I also cannot help but feel that without beautiful cinematography, set and costume design, and great actor performances, it would be “that weird pedo movie.”