Okay so I totally hear you on ALL OF THE ABOVE but I loved this movie with my entire insatiable woman-baby heart and related to the character in all of her carnal “desire as physical not always emotional” -ness. The baby brain felt symbolic as opposed to literal to me. Bella felt, to me, like this messy portrait of an unlearned (and therefore untamed) creature who was created as an experiment to help (and be kept) by men but instead devoured, destroyed and replaced them. So yes to what you’re saying! But also, team Poor Things!
That is so interesting and makes sense AND it actually reminds me of my own relationship to porn at certain points in my life, where that feral fantasy woman, while speaking to a certain hetero male fantasy, ALSO expressed the unruly parts of myself that felt so inexpressible and dangerous and in need of containment. I suppose that’s the experience I was hoping to have with this movie, especially given the way others nudged me to see it.
Tracy, your reaction/interpretation resonates so much with me (and I'll add that on a very basic level, the film just didn't provoke any feeling in me - it felt like a kind of highly stylized adventure story with no emotional register). And I also identify with your comment about how "that feral fantasy...expressed the unruly parts of myself that felt so inexpressible and dangerous and in need of containment," but failed to show up in this movie. For years now I have been trying to reconcile the myth I internalized in girlhood of the "insatiable" woman who is universally desirable and alluring to men vs. my experience in adult relationships where a non-porn version of sexual hunger has often been perceived and treated as a threat. I agree that the framing and reviews of Poor Things seemed to offer a much more in depth exploration of this dichotomy than what it actually delivered - particularly since the thing Bella most notably lacks is a genuine desire for and interest in intimacy.
i think they tried to do a thing where she discovered intimacy like in the brothel when she tries to get to know the men before having sex with them like asking their favorite childhood memory (a very humanizing question) but i do feel it was weird the film was only written and directed by men...
That’s a good point - I had forgotten that scene/montage. And I can see how the film is super creative and must have been a fun challenge as an actor to play that kind of role (Bella). I think I was mostly struck by how unstruck I felt by it!
I'm actually with woolf here on my experience of watching - i just had a great time and didn't feel uncomfortable once i got into it (at first i thought we were gonna do a lot of weird ableism shit). But when I read critiques of the take on womanhood in the film, like yours or the one in the ringer, i cant really disagree. Yes, and?
I agree. I thought it was actually refreshing to hear Bella expound on the joys of sex just for how it made her feel and not for what it was supposed to symbolize. I found her lack of shame around it (and consequently the sex work) quietly revolutionary. Yes men wanting to fuck a bay is problematic but I didn’t laugh at it, it just felt like the world we live in. 🙄 but Bella apart from the men is what I loved. Bella who finds her way on her own, with her deep quest for knowledge and answers, and yes, the opportunity to feel good.
I feel exactly the same. I absolutely ADORED the movie, I was hypnotized by the character and related to her in ways that are rare for me as a neurodivergent queer woman and sex worker.
But I also understand and appreciate these critiques.
So glad you chimed in with this Rebecca. I am right there with you! I think they really captured the humaness we once experienced before societal standards, the ego, and "being a woman" got in the way. I love that she didn't second guess herself. Team Poor things!
When I first read of the film’s premise, this was my thought too. It revolted me. Thanks for writing. And vaginal orgasms? I am beyond outraged (very very tired...) that still, every movie ever made (with a very few notable exceptions) shows women peaking with penetrative sex. Such a fantasy and so harmful to women and girls who are entitled to better representation of their pleasure.
Yes! You've articulated precisely my main hangup about the film. I found her leap from self-discovered masturbation to pornographic, performative sex with Ruffalo's character to be the most head-scratching transition.
It is always interesting to see another persons perspective of art.
I can definitely agree that the movie jumped to quickly from Bella’s interest and forming relationship with Max. To the sex and debauchery with Duncan.
This relationship needed more attention on the intimacy that was involved and developing between the characters. And why Bella was feeling drawn to that. This illustration of quiet presence, acceptance, and growing love and respect was , though not well developed cinematically, beautiful. There reunion in the end , and their mutual coming into maturity and balancing of polarities within themselves (control and abandon) was well illustrated. When asked if he was concerned or ashamed of her power, sexuality, learning journey, choices and life? His simple reply of “ I am just jealous of the time in which I did not get to spend with you” was once again beautiful.
Everyone is and does as they must , time, connection, communication, respect and gained trust are the true treasures of our lives.
I can understand from a feminist perspective all of the issues that you raised. They are valid and present. But inside I am saddened as I saw so much more in this movie. And good intentions.
I saw a beautiful illustration of power, both personal and external. Within ourselves and within relationships.
Yes there was a sick twisted coming of age story (but is this not what young girls experience now?). Early sexualisation and objectification. I see this as a point and observation, not an objective for titillation. Though tickets must be sold , and of course this has been used , as sex is used by men and women.
No art is perfect, but I think the team did a good job to retell Frankenstein and its messages. Do not fuck with nature, do not let your internal nature fuck with you. Balance and respect, allow moments of abandon, while appreciating quiet and peace. Evil is everywhere and power will corrupt. And most importantly, do not judge a book by its cover or your internal biases, it is what it is, and we must hope for the best. And when we are mistaken and it is a homicidal maniac , shoot the fucker 😆
I can certainly agree on "shoot the fucker"! Lol. Clearly, the movie hits people very differently! I do love to hear about folks finding something validating, relatable, or beautiful in it. I WISH I'd felt that!
It is so interesting, there was a woman two seats over from me, who actually said at the end that was such a disappointment, with a sense of venom/disgust in her voice. I believe she was a fan of the original book). I will have to have a read. In my moment , I wanted to applause at the resolution.
Even more curiously, her elder son was there with her, who mimed along with her. And my observation/ possible projection of them , was the same archetypes portrayed by the male antagonists and the female protagonists, just flipped 🤔.
I thought that the movie was beautiful , that learning, growth, justice, respect, death, and hope had all done their things (and yes, I saw all of the things you have seen also, but I could never actually feel it as I have a male experience). And mainstream cinema will always have blood on its hands, or cum 😅. As is the nature of the beast.
But I could feel the flip sides to many of the grievances you spoke of, and have understanding and compassion for what women have and do still feel/experience.
Longing for pure abandon and wildness , while ultimately being destroyed by lust and obsession. Stuck within stereotypes and projections , welding power and influence through work, money or sex. Downfall and abuse. Abusing and being abused.
Bella’s decision to follow her values and heart , while loving all the completely fucked upness of her and the world. Was the correct outcome. No matter of the delivery was a bitter or sweet pill to swalllow
Thanks for this review, Tracy. I’d been curious to see this film, but now that I’ve read your take on it, I don’t want to. Sounds more like gross misogyny than a feminist exploration of womanhood.
Maybe this movie has nothing to do with feminism, maybe it is just men , as it is written by and directed by men, trying to make sense of their own sexuality, and their use and abuse of power.
And how they navigate around women and their sexuality, and their use and abuse of power.
Or maybe it is just an illustration of all our messiness and awkward attempts to discover who the fuck we are, and act with grace, and get ours. As we move our, it in Bella’s case a literal jumble of pieces of our past and families past, through this life?
While bringing awareness to what really matters , communication, courage, forgiveness and connection. And calling out and acknowledging when we don’t give a shit, or lose our shit and fuck with others or when others are overstepping.
Oh and thanks for the heads up re the myth of the vaginal orgasm , i will give this a read, is there an equivalent male exploration?
I haven’t seen the movie and I apologize if this seems overly critical but I feel like you’ve over analyzed it.
There seems to be a trend in which we are forgetting that art is meant to challenge us, create emotions, present big what ifs, and allow us to safely experience things that may never be.
It’s also interesting to me how often we speak about female roles in pornography as male fantasy without consideration that very many females wish to experience these things as well. But then the demonization of male sexuality is never out of style.
Okay so I totally hear you on ALL OF THE ABOVE but I loved this movie with my entire insatiable woman-baby heart and related to the character in all of her carnal “desire as physical not always emotional” -ness. The baby brain felt symbolic as opposed to literal to me. Bella felt, to me, like this messy portrait of an unlearned (and therefore untamed) creature who was created as an experiment to help (and be kept) by men but instead devoured, destroyed and replaced them. So yes to what you’re saying! But also, team Poor Things!
That is so interesting and makes sense AND it actually reminds me of my own relationship to porn at certain points in my life, where that feral fantasy woman, while speaking to a certain hetero male fantasy, ALSO expressed the unruly parts of myself that felt so inexpressible and dangerous and in need of containment. I suppose that’s the experience I was hoping to have with this movie, especially given the way others nudged me to see it.
Tracy, your reaction/interpretation resonates so much with me (and I'll add that on a very basic level, the film just didn't provoke any feeling in me - it felt like a kind of highly stylized adventure story with no emotional register). And I also identify with your comment about how "that feral fantasy...expressed the unruly parts of myself that felt so inexpressible and dangerous and in need of containment," but failed to show up in this movie. For years now I have been trying to reconcile the myth I internalized in girlhood of the "insatiable" woman who is universally desirable and alluring to men vs. my experience in adult relationships where a non-porn version of sexual hunger has often been perceived and treated as a threat. I agree that the framing and reviews of Poor Things seemed to offer a much more in depth exploration of this dichotomy than what it actually delivered - particularly since the thing Bella most notably lacks is a genuine desire for and interest in intimacy.
Oof yes the THREAT of it. That resonates so much!
i think they tried to do a thing where she discovered intimacy like in the brothel when she tries to get to know the men before having sex with them like asking their favorite childhood memory (a very humanizing question) but i do feel it was weird the film was only written and directed by men...
That’s a good point - I had forgotten that scene/montage. And I can see how the film is super creative and must have been a fun challenge as an actor to play that kind of role (Bella). I think I was mostly struck by how unstruck I felt by it!
I'm actually with woolf here on my experience of watching - i just had a great time and didn't feel uncomfortable once i got into it (at first i thought we were gonna do a lot of weird ableism shit). But when I read critiques of the take on womanhood in the film, like yours or the one in the ringer, i cant really disagree. Yes, and?
A definite and complex "yes and"!
I agree. I thought it was actually refreshing to hear Bella expound on the joys of sex just for how it made her feel and not for what it was supposed to symbolize. I found her lack of shame around it (and consequently the sex work) quietly revolutionary. Yes men wanting to fuck a bay is problematic but I didn’t laugh at it, it just felt like the world we live in. 🙄 but Bella apart from the men is what I loved. Bella who finds her way on her own, with her deep quest for knowledge and answers, and yes, the opportunity to feel good.
Yes, thank you for sharing this Cindy! I am right there with you.
I feel exactly the same. I absolutely ADORED the movie, I was hypnotized by the character and related to her in ways that are rare for me as a neurodivergent queer woman and sex worker.
But I also understand and appreciate these critiques.
So glad you chimed in with this Rebecca. I am right there with you! I think they really captured the humaness we once experienced before societal standards, the ego, and "being a woman" got in the way. I love that she didn't second guess herself. Team Poor things!
When I first read of the film’s premise, this was my thought too. It revolted me. Thanks for writing. And vaginal orgasms? I am beyond outraged (very very tired...) that still, every movie ever made (with a very few notable exceptions) shows women peaking with penetrative sex. Such a fantasy and so harmful to women and girls who are entitled to better representation of their pleasure.
Ahem. Imagine my surprise going to see the film without reading anything about it beforehand!
I meant to say "amen," lol.
Yes! You've articulated precisely my main hangup about the film. I found her leap from self-discovered masturbation to pornographic, performative sex with Ruffalo's character to be the most head-scratching transition.
Thank goodness I’m not alone!
plz talk to me for four more hours about this. i will provide the guac.
YES PLEASE
It is always interesting to see another persons perspective of art.
I can definitely agree that the movie jumped to quickly from Bella’s interest and forming relationship with Max. To the sex and debauchery with Duncan.
This relationship needed more attention on the intimacy that was involved and developing between the characters. And why Bella was feeling drawn to that. This illustration of quiet presence, acceptance, and growing love and respect was , though not well developed cinematically, beautiful. There reunion in the end , and their mutual coming into maturity and balancing of polarities within themselves (control and abandon) was well illustrated. When asked if he was concerned or ashamed of her power, sexuality, learning journey, choices and life? His simple reply of “ I am just jealous of the time in which I did not get to spend with you” was once again beautiful.
Everyone is and does as they must , time, connection, communication, respect and gained trust are the true treasures of our lives.
I can understand from a feminist perspective all of the issues that you raised. They are valid and present. But inside I am saddened as I saw so much more in this movie. And good intentions.
I saw a beautiful illustration of power, both personal and external. Within ourselves and within relationships.
Yes there was a sick twisted coming of age story (but is this not what young girls experience now?). Early sexualisation and objectification. I see this as a point and observation, not an objective for titillation. Though tickets must be sold , and of course this has been used , as sex is used by men and women.
No art is perfect, but I think the team did a good job to retell Frankenstein and its messages. Do not fuck with nature, do not let your internal nature fuck with you. Balance and respect, allow moments of abandon, while appreciating quiet and peace. Evil is everywhere and power will corrupt. And most importantly, do not judge a book by its cover or your internal biases, it is what it is, and we must hope for the best. And when we are mistaken and it is a homicidal maniac , shoot the fucker 😆
I can certainly agree on "shoot the fucker"! Lol. Clearly, the movie hits people very differently! I do love to hear about folks finding something validating, relatable, or beautiful in it. I WISH I'd felt that!
It is so interesting, there was a woman two seats over from me, who actually said at the end that was such a disappointment, with a sense of venom/disgust in her voice. I believe she was a fan of the original book). I will have to have a read. In my moment , I wanted to applause at the resolution.
Even more curiously, her elder son was there with her, who mimed along with her. And my observation/ possible projection of them , was the same archetypes portrayed by the male antagonists and the female protagonists, just flipped 🤔.
I thought that the movie was beautiful , that learning, growth, justice, respect, death, and hope had all done their things (and yes, I saw all of the things you have seen also, but I could never actually feel it as I have a male experience). And mainstream cinema will always have blood on its hands, or cum 😅. As is the nature of the beast.
But I could feel the flip sides to many of the grievances you spoke of, and have understanding and compassion for what women have and do still feel/experience.
Longing for pure abandon and wildness , while ultimately being destroyed by lust and obsession. Stuck within stereotypes and projections , welding power and influence through work, money or sex. Downfall and abuse. Abusing and being abused.
Bella’s decision to follow her values and heart , while loving all the completely fucked upness of her and the world. Was the correct outcome. No matter of the delivery was a bitter or sweet pill to swalllow
Thanks for this review, Tracy. I’d been curious to see this film, but now that I’ve read your take on it, I don’t want to. Sounds more like gross misogyny than a feminist exploration of womanhood.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that was kinda grossed out by the premise.
This article was funny and refreshing thank u
Haven't seen the film, but when I read the premise it just seemed kind of disgusting. Agree with your assessment.
Maybe this movie has nothing to do with feminism, maybe it is just men , as it is written by and directed by men, trying to make sense of their own sexuality, and their use and abuse of power.
And how they navigate around women and their sexuality, and their use and abuse of power.
Or maybe it is just an illustration of all our messiness and awkward attempts to discover who the fuck we are, and act with grace, and get ours. As we move our, it in Bella’s case a literal jumble of pieces of our past and families past, through this life?
While bringing awareness to what really matters , communication, courage, forgiveness and connection. And calling out and acknowledging when we don’t give a shit, or lose our shit and fuck with others or when others are overstepping.
Oh and thanks for the heads up re the myth of the vaginal orgasm , i will give this a read, is there an equivalent male exploration?
I haven’t seen the movie and I apologize if this seems overly critical but I feel like you’ve over analyzed it.
There seems to be a trend in which we are forgetting that art is meant to challenge us, create emotions, present big what ifs, and allow us to safely experience things that may never be.
It’s also interesting to me how often we speak about female roles in pornography as male fantasy without consideration that very many females wish to experience these things as well. But then the demonization of male sexuality is never out of style.