Yorgos Lanthimos’ movies are, to a certain degree (and for lack of a better word), weird. Think: the dance scene in The Lobster; the spaghetti scene in The Killing of a Sacred Deer; basically every scene in Dogtooth. But even by his high standards, Lanthimos’ next film, Poor Things, looks weird as hell.
In the fantastical and heavily stylized teaser above, Emma Stone slaps Mark Ruffalo in the face, Willem Dafoe has a fascinating scar, and Ramy Youssef looks like an evil scientist. “I am finding being alive fascinating,” Stone says at one point. Same, except I am finding Poor Things fascinating.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Poor Things, which is based on Alasdair Gray’s novel of the same name with a screenplay from Tony McNamara (The Favourite), opens on September 8.
