Poor Things

I’ve been thinking about this since I saw it two weeks ago but just now found the time to write out my thoughts. I did not see it coming but Poor Things might take movie of the year for me. I think most people relate to this on a feminist level but it was actually the nonconformist lens that despite being simple/straightforward, really resonated with me. Seeing Bella’s journey towards selfhood made me think.. what if I had a child’s brain in the sense that I never internalized thinking patterns that set back my self-discovery? Poor Things forced me to confront the parts of my child self that I either suppressed or completely sacrificed to adhere to the pointless norms of “polite society”. The same polite society that teaches us to desensitize ourselves to the suffering of strangers because that’s just “the way things are” in that part of the world or “that’s just how people are”— cruel to the core… that there’s no use in trying to change that or strive for the ideal. It was refreshing to see Bella pursue her passions and desires without ever letting these constraints get in her head. Oh what could I be if I never learned shame or humiliation or self-doubt? What if I had retained that child-like sense of confidence and invincibility before the world squashed it? And what happens when you approach the world this way? Like men Bella encountered, people are fascinated and delighted by her actions until they feel threatened by them, they then seek to violently suppress the nonconformity they once fetishized. Even the well-meaning men in her life try to cage her in. I totally see a neurodivergent reading of this film, I can’t speak for that community but I could see people relating to what it’s like to live in a world that tells you the way you go about seeing it/navigating it is invalid.  Can’t wait to rewatch this one. Some random thoughts: -This was one of the most visually striking films I’ve ever seen. I wish Lisbon, Portugal was real :/ -Do not trust a man who wants a quirky bitch as badly as Duncan does, they can never hang with a real quirky bitch.  -I’m so glad they finally made a movie about someone as horny as me! With that being said, I think the rushed third act could’ve used some of that sex screen time. -20 mins shorter and this would’ve been the perfect length