The Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival is released this Wednesday, January 17 in theaters in France. “Poor Creatures”, shot in English with Hollywood stars like Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, is by Yórgos Lánthimos. The Greek director reinterprets the myth of Frankenstein by filming a woman, a candid creature who will emancipate herself through sexual education.
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Bella is a bit like Frankenstein’s bride… A creature that a mad scientist, played by Willem Dafoe, designed by grafting the brain of a baby onto the corpse of a young woman who committed suicide. Obviously, in a completely reinvented 19th century England, this young girl completely stands out.
Under the guise of an initiatory tale, Poor creatures follows Bella’s wanderings. She escapes from her golden cage on the arm of a man who introduces her to the world. From Lisbon to Paris via Alexandria, the young woman will conquer her independence by experiencing all the pleasures of sex, including prostitution. The variety of situations allows actress Emma Stone to show the quality and breadth of her acting palette.
We can praise the originality of the plot and the performance of the actress, rewarded with a Golden Globe and who can claim to receive a second Oscar. On the other hand, the aesthetics of the film, outrageous, even outrageous with distortion effects and an almost surrealist representation of the Victorian era, can put off the most delicate spectators.
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