To think that Poor Things is actually a seriously fucked up film?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Spoilers obvs

Basic plot summary- pregnant woman trapped in an abusive marriage attempts suicide by jumping from a bridge. Frankenstein-type scientist retrieves her body, transplants the unborn baby’s brain into her head and brings her back to life. This child-woman is then basically abducted by a dodgy bloke who teaches her all about the joys of fucking, she very naively gives all their money away and because they are now broke and she enjoys sex so very much, she becomes a prostitute, whilst still having the mental age of a young child.

There’s no denying Emma Stone is brilliant in the role, but AIBU to think that it is otherwise one completely messed up Freudian nightmare of a movie?!

Please tell you me that aren’t oblivious to the very well known psycho and sociological argument that people often buy into their own oppression as a way of getting on in the world? It’s repeated over and over again in analysis of class, race, sex and all other manner of characteristics. It’s essentially what third wave ‘feminism’ is founded on.

@OoooohSpookyGhost so you don't agree with any films with sex scenes in?

One of my favourite movies is ‘The Piano’. I hope this answers your question. :)

I've not seen it.

😂

Seeing the trailer and reading about it was enough for me to decide not to see it. Nothing has changed my mind.

It has sex in it.

It’s a good movie to analyse to understand how sex/nudity isn’t the problem, but rather how it is presented can be. It has a female director and it tries extremely hard to shoot the movie from a non-exploitative, non-male gaze perspective. It therefore gives the female character, and the female audience, agency they aren’t usually afforded.

Interestingly (to me, anyway) I loved this movie when I saw it at a fairly young age in a way that jarred against other movies with sex/nudity and so I sought out why that might be. There’s a plethora of very well written academic papers on it, and I would also highly recommend ‘Ways of Seeing’ as a very small but valuable book on looking at the world through different perspectives.

Woujd this movie work with a younger Olivia Coleman as the lead? It would still be about sex and whatever but works less attractive actress?

Probably not. They wanted a pretty star.

I'm not sure An Officer and a Gentleman would have worked so well with Danny DeVito playing Zack Mayo.

Or American Gigolo, I think there was more sex in that.

Richard Gere was hot in that.

In fairness Olivia Coleman was the last person to win best actress in a Yorgos Lanthimos film (for a role in which she has sex with Emma Stone, among other things!).

Part of the plot is that men find Bella beautiful and so sexualised her all the more, but yes, the key points probably would have worked with a less attractive actress.

I get that this is a joke, but it feels a little unfair! I think it's that it's harder to portray someone's thought process on screen as compared to a book. I really liked the scenes in which she is exposed to philosophy and politics though, and flatter myself that I am sufficiently intellectual to cope with more scenes like that.

You’re right, it was a joke. Tongue-in-cheek push back at all of the people who deemed any opinion that wasn’t theirs as being intellectually challenged. If you weren’t one of those then you’re home dry. ;)

I was in this camp as well, then took a chance and so glad I did.

Amazing movie.

I agree, but I absolutely loved it! I like weird stuff 😄

I going to watch it this weekend.

We've just been talking about it in the pub. The opinion of sone Mumsnetters is not what I'm seeing elsewhere.

OK, so you only like a certain kind of sex scene and that's fine. Other people are different.

I don't think you need to take the opinions of those particular Mumsnetters into account. They are rather myopic and unable to see past their own extreme biases.

I haven’t seen the film yet, but the novel is brilliant, sounds as though it has deviated in some way from the original. Bella is a strong female figure, who enjoys her sexuality and has constructed a strong moral compass.

Enjoy! It's brilliantly weird and I could see there were many statements the film was making about being human, being female, society in general. I probably didn't get all of it 🤦‍♀️ but it did trigger strong feelings in me as a female, and I like a film that does that.

Enjoy it! I didn't think I'd like it - and of course it was flawed - but I liked it a lot. There's really no such thing as a feminist Hollywood film but if you don't try and watch it through that particular filter, there's a lot that's thought-provoking and interesting and it looks amazing.

👏

She was a Nymphomaniac before killing herself, hense why her husband wanted the genital mutilation option at the end.

You are right though! Very much 'paedophilia' vibes with Mark Ruffolo taking her and then getting upset when her mind matures to more of an adult. He preferred her in a child-like state.

It takes a lot to disturb me because I've worked with some pretty dark scenarios in my line of work. This...why would anyone want to write it!?

I did laugh at some of it, sometimes a shocked 'wtf' laugh.

The goat at the end was the cherry on the comedy part.

I watched it this morning. It's thought provoking, extremely funny and Mark Ruffalo should have got an Oscar for his hilarious role!

Sounds awful. Thanks for the heads up, I won’t be watching :/

Thanks for the warning
I'm giving it a wide berth
Sounds like utter shite