Poor Things

A very interesting film! I love its aesthetics and Emma Stone gives the performance of a lifetime that I think should be long remembered! I know this film is controversial and divisive through its themes and how it decides to give that lesson, but I find this movie to be simply magnificent! I feel like the story of finding yourself through the many pleasures and displeasures of life could only be told through the perspective of someone who is at full physical capacity and no mental capacity. Bella Baxter is learning, she is discovering. While I do see there being a slippery slope of manipulation being that Bella Baxter has the mind of a child and doing these acts, I feel like it can be said that she was both manipulated but found enjoyment in the act, which I don’t find crazy to say? I do think the film should’ve talked about that idea which is, I think, the films main flaw. It reminds me a lot of Kore-eda’s 2009 work on ‘Air Doll’ except for the obvious fact that one enjoys the act of sex while the other disassociates from the act, though that definitely has to do with their origins, those being an adult with a child’s mind and an inflatable sex doll given life. But Bella Baxter and Nozomi are both similar in their love for the living. Then there comes one more thing: Bella Baxter is a very clear, at least to me, as a representation of autism, and as an autistic person I do feel the need to give input. I think she is a very good piece of subtle representation, many people might see themselves in Bella Baxter which I love. As she says, “I am a flawed and experimenting person-“ and many will relate with that and love it. Bella Baxter’s development through the movie as a whole is fascinating to watch as she develops at an accelerated rate, which many autistic people feel, especially those with high-functioning autism, much like myself. I find this movie beautiful in the act of finding yourself, the world, and where you fit in the world. Marvelous!