---
title: "Poor Things"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/poor-things"
fi1m_id: "poor-things"
imdb_id: "tt14230458"
tmdb_id: 792307
wikidata_id: "Q108760382"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 76
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:45.135410+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Poor Things (2023)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos · 2h 21m · MPA R · Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy

## Identity

Poor Things

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/poor-things
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** poor-things
- **IMDb ID:** tt14230458
- **TMDB ID:** 792307
- **Wikidata ID:** Q108760382
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/792307, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108760382

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 76 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* The monster leaves the castle, tries everything twice, and outgrows every man in the film by the second course

> Lanthimos’s Frankenstein comedy is the best-looking film he has made and the one most anxious to please. Emma Stone is remarkable in it, and the film runs out of new things to say about her a good half hour before it stops.

## Synopsis

London, in a Victorian age that never quite happened. Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) lives in the house of Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a surgeon with a stitched-together face whom she calls God. She has the body of a grown woman and the mind of a small child, and Godwin knows why. He hires a medical student, McCandles (Ramy Youssef), to record her progress, and the student grows attached to her. Then a lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), arrives with papers to sign and an offer to show her the world. She takes it. Yorgos Lanthimos directs from Tony McNamara’s screenplay, adapted from the novel; Christopher Abbott, Kathryn Hunter and Hanna Schygulla appear along the way.

## Review

Bella Baxter lives in a large London house with Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a surgeon whose face is a patchwork of old stitches, and she calls him God. She has a woman’s body and a small child’s mind, and Godwin explains why quite early. He hires a medical student, McCandles (Ramy Youssef), to keep notes on her progress; a lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), turns up with papers and an offer to show her the world. Tony McNamara’s screenplay, adapted from the novel, follows her out of the house and across a Europe that never existed. It is the best-looking film Yorgos Lanthimos has made. It also wants badly to be liked.

James Price and Shona Heath have built the whole thing on stages. The sky over Lisbon is painted, the sea is a sheet of moving cloth, and a tram travels on a wire above rooftops that lean at the wrong angles. Robbie Ryan shoots the London house in black and white through a fisheye lens that bows the walls, and when Bella leaves the film goes into colour so heavy the rooms look lit from inside the furniture. Holly Waddington dresses Stone in sleeves the size of pillows, bloomers under a short jacket, nothing laced, the clothes of someone who has not yet been told to be ashamed.

Stone begins stiff-legged and open-mouthed, a toddler handed a full-grown body who would like to see what it breaks. Over 141 minutes she straightens, her sentences lengthen and she learns to lie, and she plays each stage as a complete person rather than a step towards the next. She reports on sex, which the film calls furious jumping, like a scientist reading out results. It is physical comedy first, and it is funny. Then there is a scene on the deck of a ship where she looks down at something we will not describe, and her face gives way in stages, and we were moved more than a film with this many jokes about self-pleasure had led us to expect.

Ruffalo plays Duncan as a cad who believes himself a rake, and for about an hour he is the funniest thing on screen. That is roughly when the character is meant to become tiresome, and he does, on schedule. Dafoe, under a face of scar tissue, gives Godwin a gentleness we did not expect; his account of his own father is the saddest thing in the film. Kathryn Hunter arrives late, small and hoarse, and takes charge of every scene she is in. Jerskin Fendrix’s score bends its strings flat and lets its piano wander out of tune, as though the instruments were learning to play while Bella learned to speak. It is the best idea in the film, and by the third city it has become a tic.

The argument is that a woman with no shame is a scandal to every man she meets, and the film makes it well in the first hour. Every man Bella encounters is a fool or a brute, or a fool who turns out to be a brute, and by the third we could draw the scene before it arrived. Yorgos Mavropsaridis cuts briskly inside each scene, but nobody seems to have asked whether every scene was needed, and 141 minutes is long for one lesson learned in several outfits. We caught ourselves waiting for the next set of clothes, and we were a little sorry about that.

*Dogtooth* and *The Lobster* were cold films, and the cold was the point. *The Favourite*, also written by McNamara, let some warmth in. *Poor Things* is warmer still, and it wants us to love it, which is new for Lanthimos, and the wanting shows. Jokes land and then the film holds for a beat, as if to check we got them.

It is an 18, and it earns the certificate in the first half hour, so choose your company. See it on the largest screen you can find; the sets were built to be looked at from a distance, and at home the repetitions are easier to count.

*Fi1m score 76, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like Poor Things a good deal, and nearly all of them like it for the same reason. Emma Stone’s performance as Bella Baxter is praised in almost every review, usually for its fearlessness and its comic timing, and several critics call it the best work she has done. The design, costumes and camerawork come a close second, with the film’s baroque, invented Victorian world described as inventive and a pleasure to look at.

Reservations among the admirers are about length: a handful of reviews say it runs long and could lose twenty minutes. The dissent is small but sharp. Film Comment finds the humour one-note and the ideas shallow; Vulture calls it a sterile, exhibitionist treatment of female sexuality; The Ringer and The New York Times both find it smug, arguing that it wants to be admired more than it wants to unsettle. Even the sceptics concede Stone and the visuals. The spread is wide, though weighted heavily towards the top.

## Straight answers

**Is Poor Things worth watching?**

*Poor Things* is worth watching for anyone who wants Emma Stone at full stretch inside the best-looking film Yorgos Lanthimos has made, and we scored it 76. The reservation is length: the argument about a woman without shame is made well in the first hour, then repeated across several cities and outfits for another hour and more. See it on a large screen, where the painted skies and leaning rooftops earn their keep.

**How long is Poor Things, and what is it rated?**

*Poor Things* runs 2h 21m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a science fiction and romance film.

**Where can I watch Poor Things in the US?**

*Poor Things* is streaming on Hulu in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Poor Things, and is it suitable for children?**

*Poor Things* is an 18 in the UK and R in the US, and it earns the certificate within the first half hour, so it is not for children or younger teenagers. There is a great deal of frank sex, discussed and shown, alongside surgical imagery and a stitched-together face or two. It is not a frightening film so much as an explicit one, so choose your company.

**How does Poor Things compare to The Favourite?**

*Poor Things* is the warmer and grander of the two Lanthimos films written by Tony McNamara, and [*The Favourite*](https://film.one/film/the-favourite) is the more disciplined. Both give Emma Stone room to be very funny, but the earlier film knows when to stop, while this one runs a good half hour past its last new idea. If you want the sets and the transformation, choose this; if you want the sharper comedy, the earlier film is better.

**Is Poor Things based on a true story or a book?**

*Poor Things* is adapted from a novel by Alasdair Gray, not from a true story, though it borrows the bones of Frankenstein: a surgeon, a made woman, a world she has to learn from scratch. You do not need to know the book, since Tony McNamara's screenplay explains Bella's origins early and plainly. The Victorian Europe on screen never existed and is not meant to have.

**What should I watch after Poor Things?**

After *Poor Things*, try [*The Favourite*](https://film.one/film/the-favourite) (2018, Fi1m 87): Lanthimos and McNamara’s earlier collaboration, with Stone, and rather better at knowing when to stop. Then [*Bride of Frankenstein*](https://film.one/film/bride-of-frankenstein) (1935, Fi1m 89): The made woman who says no; seventy-five minutes and not a wasted one; and [*Daisies*](https://film.one/film/daisies) (1966, Fi1m 85): Two Czech girls decide to be spoiled and wreck a banquet; anarchic, short and colourful.

### Reviews we read (20)

- **Little White Lies**, Savina Petkova (5/5/5): The critic calls it Lanthimos at his most playful and comedic, praising Emma Stone's career-defining performance as Bella Baxter in this opulent provocation about the body as a nexus for pleasure and pain. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/poor-things)
- **The Guardian**, Wendy Ide (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a funny, filthy and explosively inventive spin on Frankenstein driven by Stone's courageous performance as Bella. The inventive design, score and camerawork create a carnival of oddness that mirrors the character's voyage of discovery. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/14/poor-things-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-frankenstein)
- **Radio Times**, James Mottram (4/5): The critic highlights Emma Stone's remarkable performance in this eccentric and uncanny fable, noting it shows Lanthimos as the master purveyor of the strange and surreal, though it could use some trimming. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/poor-things-review/)
- **Film Comment**, Beatrice Loayza (40/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a lavishly designed steampunk fantasia of feminist wish fulfillment with inventive aesthetics, but finds it conceptually boring and repetitive in its one-note humor and shallow thematic treatment. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/babe-land-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-poor-things-review/)
- **Vulture** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a sterile, exhibitionist take on female sexuality that fails as a sincere treatise, reducing empowerment to surface-level provocation and a male auteur's limited vision. While acknowledging visual and costuming strengths, the review deems the narrative and spiritual hollowness ultimately ugly. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/poor-things-review-a-banal-rendition-of-sexual-freedom.html)
- **Empire**, John Nugent: The critic calls the film absolutely batshit, utterly filthy and a true original. They single out Emma Stone's richest, most interesting and fearless performance as Bella. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/poor-things/)
- **Evening Standard**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh: The critic says Lanthimos and Stone have triumphed again with a delight that is eccentric, smart, a little dark, lovely to look at and charming as hell. They single out Stone's phenomenal performance running the gamut from infantile to articulate maturity. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/poor-things-movie-review-venice-film-festival-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-b1104306.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang: A splendidly deranged science-fiction-horror-comedy-fantasia that showcases Stone's extraordinary, audacious performance as Bella, whose sexual and moral awakening drives the story. Lanthimos blends wicked playfulness with serious undertones of female empowerment and human cruelty in a film that is not for everyone but rewards those who embrace its stylized imagery and happy ending. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-09-01/poor-things-review-emma-stone-yorgos-lanthimos-venice-telluride-2023-film-festivals)
- **Screen Daily**: The review lauds the ultra-baroque period futurism anchored by Emma Stone's dazzling performance, calling it an outré feminist fable bound to captivate audiences. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/poor-things-venice-review/5185480.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic praises the film's fantastical frames that give pleasure to the eye and soul, highlighting Emma Stone's extraordinary performance and Lanthimos's visual imagination. It notes the film's accurate take on contemporary issues amid its absurd delights. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/poor-things-film-that-gives-pleasure-every-fantastical-frame)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic praises the film's nonstop bonkers brilliance as a picaresque feminist Candide and Emma Stone's fearless, expansive performance in the lead role. Design elements, costumes, and craft contributions are highlighted as major standouts alongside the ensemble's embrace of the material's madness and philosophical curiosity. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/poor-things-review-emma-stone-mark-ruffalo-yorgos-lanthimos-1235579912/)
- **The i Paper**, Francesca Steele: The critic finds the film uproarious and thought-provoking, calling it a magnificent examination of self-discovery told in the wittiest and weirdest way possible. They single out Stone's fearless, hilarious performance with impeccable comic timing. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/poor-things-review-emma-stone-2846217)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis: The film is a visually sumptuous and gleefully clever Victorian-era riff on Frankenstein, but it is so self-satisfied that it borders on bullying the viewer into admiration. Stone delivers an anarchic, liberated performance amid rich design, though the ideas remain thin and the eccentricity eventually wears thin. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/07/movies/poor-things-review.html)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (5/5): The critic hails Emma Stone's fearless, career-best performance as the galvanizing Bella Baxter in this grandly perverse, exuberant dark comedy that blends Gothic horror, hedonism, and unexpected optimism into a one-of-a-kind bacchanal fantasia. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/poor-things-review-emma-stone-frankenstein-for-ages/)
- **The Playlist**, Rafa Sales Ross (A+): The critic praises it as one of the year's very best, highlighting Lanthimos' refined philosophical musings, accomplished visual work with bold colors and production design, and the biting humor from Tony McNamara's script. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/poor-things-review-yorgos-lanthimos-fantastic-epic-is-one-of-the-years-very-best-venice-20230901/)
- **/Film**, Mike Shutt (9.5/10): The critic calls it one of Lanthimos' finest films and possibly the best of the year, praising Emma Stone's bravura performance as Bella and the vibrant, unique world created by the production design and cinematography. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1445137/poor-things-review/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (9/10): The critic praises the film as visually stunning with Emma Stone's phenomenal performance, calling it one of the best films of 2023. They highlight Lanthimos' unique vision and the cast's excellence in bringing the eccentric world to life. [Read](https://collider.com/poor-things-review/)
- **Deadline**, Stephanie Bunbury (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as a glorious paean to freedom, returning to Lanthimos' core themes of human nature beneath its extravagant period trappings. Stone's energetic embrace of the naive, rapidly evolving Bella is singled out alongside inventive direction and strong ensemble work. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/09/poor-things-review-yorgos-lanthimos-emma-stone-venice-film-festival-1235533982/)
- **NME**, James Mottram (4/5): The critic calls the film a visually resplendent, cheekily written feminist Frankenstein tale and mind-blower, spotlighting Emma Stone's physically dexterous and idiosyncratic performance at its center while noting it can feel over-extended. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/poor-things-review-emma-stone-yorgos-lanthimos-sex-comedy-3569226)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film mixed, praising Stone's uninhibited performance but criticizing Lanthimos for blending alienation with ingratiation in a way that flattens the satire and makes the film feel smug and crowd-pleasing. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2023/12/07/movies/poor-things-movie-review-emma-stone)

## Details

- **Director:** Yorgos Lanthimos
- **Director:** Yorgos Lanthimos
- **Screenplay:** Tony McNamara
- **Novel:** Alasdair Gray
- **Cinematography:** Robbie Ryan
- **Editor:** Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- **Music:** Jerskin Fendrix
- **Production design:** Shona Heath, James Price
- **Costume design:** Holly Waddington
- **Producer:** Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Andrew Lowe
- **Cast:** Emma Stone as Bella Baxter; Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn; Willem Dafoe as Godwin Baxter; Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles; Christopher Abbott as Alfie Blessington; Suzy Bemba as Toinette; Jerrod Carmichael as Harry Astley; Kathryn Hunter as Swiney
- **Runtime:** 2h 21m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 22 December 2023
- **Genres:** Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2023); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2023); [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Winner, 2023); [Golden Lion winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-lion.md) (Winner, 2023)
- **Budget:** $35 million
- **Box office:** $118 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EfYJWRw2FM

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $4.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $19.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2024: Best Picture (nominated); Best Production Design (won)
- Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film 2024: Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film (won)
- FIPRESCI Grand Prix 2024: FIPRESCI Grand Prix (won)
- Golden Globes 2023: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won)
- Venice Film Festival 2023: Golden Lion (won)

## If you liked this

- *The Favourite* (2018), Fi1m 87: Lanthimos and McNamara’s earlier collaboration, with Stone, and rather better at knowing when to stop. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-favourite.md)
- *Bride of Frankenstein* (1935), Fi1m 89: The made woman who says no; seventy-five minutes and not a wasted one. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/bride-of-frankenstein.md)
- *Daisies* (1966), Fi1m 85: Two Czech girls decide to be spoiled and wreck a banquet; anarchic, short and colourful. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/daisies.md)
- *Being There* (1979), Fi1m 84: An innocent walks into the world and the world mistakes him for a sage. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/being-there.md)
- *Orlando* (1992), Fi1m 81: Tilda Swinton lives four centuries and changes sex; painted England, dry as a biscuit. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/orlando.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/poor-things