Released on January 17, 2024, “Poor Creatures” is the film not to be missed at the cinema this week.
After winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and several acting awards, Poor creatures finally arrives in French cinemas. The latest achievement of Yórgos Lánthimos (The Lobster, The favorite…) was released in theaters this Wednesday, January 17. And if there’s one film to see on the big screen this week, it’s this one.
Poor creatures presents itself as a feminine Frankenstein. Brought back to life by a brilliant (and slightly crazy) scientist, Bella, however, has a particularity: she had the brain of a child transplanted into her adult body. This woman-child must relearn everything and an insatiable curiosity pushes her to run away with a debauched lawyer to discover the world.
This feature film is as surprising as its pitch. But it remains no less delicious and irreverent. Through Bella, Yórgos Lánthimos offers a learning story that explores the liberation of women, whether through their body, their sexuality, their curiosity and their intelligence. Woman-child, Bella explodes all the shackles of patriarchy and establishes herself, against their will, as the equal of the men she meets.
Poor creatures also uses the codes of Gothic and surrealism to serve the purpose of his story, which gives pride of place to the “freaks” (which can be translated as monsters) in his story. Without forgetting the humor and tenderness for its characters.
Emma Stone finds in Bella one of the most beautiful roles of her career (that’s saying something) which already positions her as one of the favorites to win the Oscar for best actress in March, while Willem Dafoe radiates with tenderness as Doctor Frankenstein who develops a filial love for his creature, and Mark Ruffalo surprises as a ridiculous villain.
Gargantuan, enjoyable and sometimes grotesque baroque fable, Poor creatures has everything to surprise and therefore to divide critics and even the public. Because you don’t often see films like that in the cinema.