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?!

Admittedly, its been a while since I saw Taxi Driver but I don't remember the Jodie Foster character being "happy" at all! I remember her trying very hard to seem tough and worldly in a way that highlighted her childishness and vulnerability, putting on a front as children living in traumatic situations often do. I've worked with many victims of Child Sexual Exploitation and I remember thinking that her portrayl was convincing, so much so that she really reminded me of a particular child I had dealt with in the past and it played on my mind for a while afterwards. I agree the scenes with JF were "grim", but they needed to be. I wasn't a massive fan of Taxi Driver overall and some aspects definitely haven't aged well, but the film made a clear statement about the sexual exploitation of children at a time when society typically either refused to acknowledge that these kids existed, or vilified them as delinquents who had 'chosen' the wrong path.

If nothing else I suppose this thread is a reminder that two people can watch the same film and leave with wildly different perceptions of what they've seen.

I'm not a man.

Last time I checked.

So true @neverbeenskiing 😊

My understanding was that no, he didn't know and the contract didn't mention it

I'm watching it just now on Disney and it's a weird film. When is it meant to be set?

Quite.

You say Taxi Driver wouldn't get made today yet here we are talking about a new film about a baby in it's own mother's body getting fucked all over the show and enjoying prostitution....made by Disney.

Do you want to rethink that?

It’s a surreal twist on a gothic Frankenstein movie, it’s made up, a fantasy, a weird dark comedy with a steam-pink like aesthetic. Taxi driver is sadly realism, based on the story of a 12 year old prostitute. Which film is actually more horrific?

OK, so perhaps the baby brain is fanstastical but there are plenty of grown women who have the mental age of a child, that are exploited and sexually abused by men in the real world. Forced into prostitution and acts they don't fully understand. Slapping fish eye lenses, bright colours and funny looking gondola lifts doesn't make it any less brutal, things like that happen all the time to women who are physically mature but not mentally.

If you take away all the fantasy elements, the steam punk, the expressive license etc

You have a woman who was so abused that she tries to commit suicide whilst heavily pregnant
Who is found by a man who admits he could have saved her and her baby but chose instead to mutilate them both
A woman who is severely mentally challenged being locked in a house to be experimented on
A man comes in the house, walks into her bedroom and grabs her genitals.
He than takes her away, knowing she is not fully mentally coherants and has sex with her, whilst trapping her on a ship because of his jealousy
She's then taken into prostitution and says she doesn't want to have sex with some of the men because they smell and she wants to choose who she is intimate with. Is told 'some men like that you don't want to, it's good for business'
She's then returned, like property, to the first husband who she tried to escape from.
Who wants to circumcise her then rape her to put another baby inise her.

And you think it's not as bad as Taxi driver?

I did think of that irony as I said it. However I do think the “fantasy” element of Poor Things seems to bamboozle people. Stone is an adult at least. A 12 year old starring as a prostitute now? A healthy happy relaxed 12 year old prostitute who cracks jokes and chats to de Niro about what star signs make the best lovers? I think child protection has moved on even if misogyny hasn’t.

What’s the beautiful about it then? Your synopsis above doesn’t read like the film possesses any beauty. All the men are deviant losers in love, if the only way they can enjoy sex/love is via abuse.

If you have daughters, explain the drip, drip, drip of these messages and how loser men can condition the brain.

If you have sons as well actually!

I'm not a film critic and I'm not equipt (or inclined) to break a film down scene by scene.

I just know that I watched TD and it was shocking, upsetting, unsettling and thought provoking.

And that I thought 'wow, what a film'.
Same as with Poor Things.

I'm not going to try and justify enjoying 2 films that millions of other people have watched and loved, like I'm some diviant misogynist for doing so.

I expected to hate Poor Things. I didn't.

I don't need to justify it.

This is bonkers, you can’t take away a major element of the film and say ‘what if?’, that doesn’t make sense. It is primarily a fantasy, a surreal film and you need to judge it as such. I can’t understand why people can’t get to grips with that aspect of it? You wouldn’t watch The Wizard of Oz and complain that it’s not realistic. The fantastical, surrealist element of the film is intrinsic. It’s a film about stripping away morals and etiquette and essentially behaving like animals, not following the social norms and being dropped in to society. . . In order to play out that narrative Yorgos has used a device to do so, that device is planting a child’s brain in a woman’s body. I don’t understand why that’s so hard to comprehend.

The prostitution scenes are Bella trying to some way to bring socialism, a union of sorts to her and her workers, unfortunately as we all know, capitalism prevails.

@GodZillas 👏👏

I was suggesting you were a misogynist, pretty hard to be when you are a woman. Equally, I was commenting on the men in the film so quite a conclusion to jump to. I just don’t know how beauty can be found in a film with the hideous synopsis that you have written.

Millions liking something does not equate to ‘good’ it equates to popular.

huge contribution to a discussion on a film again I see ManchesterBenedict

oops, sorry, ManchesterBeatrice not Benedict

Cheers @Goldenbear 😊

That some kind of Much Ado pun? 😉

No, it was a mistake, what’s ‘Much Ado’?

Oh, a Shakespeare play..