The Best Picture category at the Academy Awards is almost always a tough call, but it's particularly tricky this year. Clearly, judging by recent successes, Oppenheimer is the clear favourite – but we really wouldn't be surprised to see Poor Things upset the odds.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), the film is – like its lead character, Bella Baxter, in a tour-de-force performance by Emma Stone – very much its own beast. The steampunk-y, gothic sci-fi story was released in September 2023 and it stunned viewers and critics alike, with the New Statesman calling it “Lanthimos’ best film yet”.
Now that has done the rounds at the cinema, it’s coming to a small screen streamer near you.
What’s the big idea?
The fantastical tale – adapted from the novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray – tells the story of the gruesome surgeon, Dr Godwin “God” Baxter (William Dafoe), who mutilates the dead body of a woman and her foetus to create Bella. Bella has the mind of a child, but finds herself desperate to explore an adult world, so she becomes engaged to Max (Ramy Youssef), then runs off with the caddish Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) to spend a summer shagging furiously around Europe.
The film has been praised for its carnivalesque set design, taking in Victoriana London, an elite cruise liner, Lisbon, the brothels of Paris and Alexandria along the way. The costumes, in particular Bella’s oddly mismatched yet haute couture looks, also had the audience swooning, thanks to the vision of designer Holly Waddington.
But then… the discourse began. Was it actually “a seriously misguided take on female empowerment”, or was the San Francisco Chronicle correct in its assertion that Poor Things "purports to be a feminist document, but it defines a woman's autonomy as the ability to be exploited and not care?". The Guardian went to town on the many divisive opinions on the film (“How liberating can it be to have the brain of your own baby implanted into you and then go and work in a brothel?”, Viv Groskop said) and now, with the film arriving on streaming platforms, there’s a chance to make up your own mind.
How can I watch Poor Things?
Disney+ has just announced that Poor Things will be available to watch on the platform in the UK and on Hulu in the US from Thursday, 7 March .
There’s also currently a limited time deal with the streamer, which offers a three-month subscription for just £1.99 a month, if you sign up before 14 March. This deal will also give you time to sink into some of the other big hitters on the service, including Shogun, The Mandalorian, The Bear or Only Murders In The Building.
