the new multi-awarded film by Yórgos Lánthimos enchants the cinema planet, but less the heart

Golden Lion in Venice and two Golden Globes: third collaboration of Yórgos Lánthimos with Emma Stone, “Poor Creatures” is full of awards, while waiting for the 96th Oscars (March 10), where the film is preselected in seven categories.

Greek, Yórgos Lánthimos has established himself as one of the most iconoclastic and haloed directors in Hollywood. And this, from its beginnings in 2009 with Canine, price A certain look and The LobsterJury Prize at Cannes in 2015. Third film with Emma Stone after The Favorite And Bleat (short film), Poor Creatureswhich comes out on Wednesday January 17, receives a rave reception at festivals and ranks high in the charts.

Poor Creatures brings together the cream of the moment with, in addition to Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. The actress, producer of the film, has just received the Golden Globe for best actress and Yórgos Lánthimos the Golden Lion for best film in Venice in September 2023. The work nonetheless remains very formal.

Feminist Frankenstein

Feminine standout of Frankenstein, Poor Creatures adapts the eponymous novel by Alasdair Gray (Métailié editions), published in 1992. A mad scientist patched together from all sides, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) resuscitates Bella (Emma Stone) with the aim of educating her. But the creature escapes with a crooked and debauched lawyer. He takes her to the five continents, into a world of stupor where she flourishes, independent and free. The feminist Mary Shelley authored in 1818 Frankenstein And Poor Creatures keeps traces of it. The monster has become a monster, virginal, beautiful and fatal.

Yórgos Lánthimos follows in the footsteps of the classics of fantasy and horror, in a film that aims to be political, riding the #MeToo wave. In the making for fifteen years, it’s no surprise that this movement has been echoed in a number of films for a while. Like others of its kind, Poor Creatures was conceived before the Weinstein affair (2016) which propelled the wave. It therefore took approximately seven years to resurrect these Poor Creatures, in their director’s head for ages. Time to make a film.

Ken Russell’s Shadow

Very loose story, Poor Creatures creates a surreal patchwork conducive to visual inventions. Extensively filmed at fish-eye (180° wide-angle), he alternates between black and white and color, and uses different frame formats. Flirting with musical comedy, thriller and horror, the film is saturated with effects. It is also preselected for the Oscars in all technical categories (best visual effects, sets, costumes, makeup, etc.). Yórgos Lánthimos is having a blast with his “electric train”.

According to the reception he receives, Poor Creatures pleases. Two hours and twenty-one hours of roller coaster, a crazy film about crazy people, in a crazy world. The director of Killing of the sacred deer (Screenplay Prize at Cannes 2007) is faithful to its filmic labyrinth, into which we enter or not. In this he recalls Ruben Östlund (Without filter), also revealed in Cannes, in another style, but also divisive. Inventive and talented, Yórgos Lánthimos evokes the exquisite and feverish excesses of Ken Russell (Devils), even more eccentric, very artsy, dandybut a little too much.

The sheet

Gender : Fantastic
Director : Yorgos Lanthimos
Actors: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Suzy Bemba, Jerrod Carmichael
Country : UNITED STATES / Ireland / Great Britain
Duration : 2h21
Exit : January 17, 2024
Distributer : The Walt Disney Company France

Warning: scenes, comments or images may offend the sensitivity of viewers

Synopsis: Bella is a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox Dr. Godwin Baxter. Under his protection, she is eager to learn. Eager to discover the world about which she knows nothing, she runs away with Duncan Wedderburn, a skillful and debauched lawyer, and embarks on a dizzying odyssey across continents. Impervious to the prejudices of her time, Bella is determined not to give in on the principles of equality and liberation.