Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. A co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the film stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael.[5] It focuses on Bella Baxter, a woman in Victorian London who is brought back to life via brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery.

Principal photography took place in Hungary from August to December 2021. Poor Things premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, and won the Golden Lion there. The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 8, 2023, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on January 12, 2024, by Searchlight Pictures. It received critical acclaim and has grossed over $112 million worldwide on a budget of $35 million.

Poor Things was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and received various accolades, including four wins at the 96th Academy Awards, two wins at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, and five wins at the 77th British Academy Film Awards, with Stone winning Best Actress at each of these ceremonies.

Plot

In Victorian London,[n 1] the medical student Max McCandles becomes an assistant to the eccentric surgeon Godwin Baxter. Max falls in love with Godwin's ward, Bella, a childlike young woman. Godwin reveals that the woman, who was pregnant, killed herself by leaping off a bridge. Godwin replaced the woman's brain with that of her unborn baby, resulting in her having an infant's mind, and named her Bella Baxter.

With Godwin's encouragement, Max asks for Bella's hand in marriage. Bella accepts, but as her intelligence rapidly develops, she becomes curious about the outside world and herself. While exploring her own body, she discovers masturbation and sexual pleasure. She runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a debauched lawyer whom Godwin hired to overhaul the nuptial contract. Deciding to let her go, Godwin begins a new experiment with a young woman, Felicity, who matures much more slowly than Bella.

Bella and Duncan embark on a grand journey, beginning in Lisbon, where they have frequent sex. When Bella becomes difficult for him to control, Duncan smuggles her onto a cruise ship. Bella befriends two passengers, who open her mind to philosophy. Duncan attempts to stunt her growth to no avail. He becomes exasperated and indulges in drinking and gambling. During a stop at Alexandria, Bella witnesses the suffering of the poor and becomes distraught. She entrusts Duncan's winnings to unscrupulous members of the crew, who falsely promise to give it to the needy. Unable to afford the rest of the trip, Bella and Duncan are dropped off at Marseille and make their way to Paris. Seeking money and accommodation, Bella begins working at a brothel. Duncan, enraged, has a breakdown and Bella abandons him. At the brothel, she comes under the tutelage of Madame Swiney and begins a relationship with a prostitute, Toinette, who introduces her to socialism.

Godwin, now terminally ill, asks Max to bring Bella to him. Max locates her after tracking down Duncan, who has been institutionalized. Back in London, Bella reconciles with Godwin and renews her plans to marry Max. The wedding is interrupted by Duncan and General Alfie Blessington. The latter, addressing Bella as Victoria, declares that they were married before her disappearance and that he has come to reclaim her. She abandons Max to learn of her past life, but discovers Alfie's violent and sadistic nature and realizes Victoria committed suicide to escape him.

Alfie confines Bella to his mansion. He unsuccessfully threatens her at gunpoint to submit to genital mutilation, demanding she drink a sedative. She tosses the sedative in his face, and after a struggle, Alfie accidentally shoots himself in the foot before passing out. Godwin dies peacefully with Bella and Max at his side. Bella decides to follow Godwin's footsteps by becoming a surgeon with the help of Max and Toinette and transplants a goat's brain into Alfie's head.