Poor Things (2023)

Set in Victorian London, a doctor (Willem Dafoe) resurrects the body of a pregnant woman (Emma Stone) who committed suicide. But he gives her the brain of her unborn child. As she grows mentally older, she seeks to experience the world. Based on the novel by Alasdair Gray and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (KILLING OF A SACRED DEER). This feminist version of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN is near astonishing in both its unique look and its execution. Emma Stone's Bella Baxter is a "born" innocent without the influence of a patriarchal society creating her into its concept of what a woman should be. While I intensely disliked Lanthimos' last film (THE FAVOURITE), I was a fan of both THE LOBSTER and KILLING OF A SACRED DEER but nothing prepared be for this fiercely visionary tale. I can't give enough praise to Emma Stone's performance, she bats it right out of the ballpark. Still, I can see why not everyone is a fan of it. Its glossy finish gives its visuals a prominence that often overshadows the film's intended statement. The first rate cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Hanna Schygulla, Margaret Qualley, Kathryn Hunter and Jerrod Carmichael.