Poor Things

Poor Things – 2023 – Ireland, England, United States

The story of Frankenstein is eternal. Last month saw the release of both Lisa Frankenstein (a kitschy horror comedy) and Poor Things (also a comedy of sorts). Those two movies are totally different, and that says a lot about the adaptability of Frankenstein.

A mad scientist finds the body of a pregnant women who committed suicide. Although she is dead, her baby is alive, so he implants the baby’s brain in the woman’s body. The result is Bella, a woman who loves life and is often violent, hedonistic, and totally ignorant of social mores. She also loves sex to an extreme degree. Poor Things has a lot of sex in it.

Poor Things is quite funny when Bella’s immature attitudes, destructive impulses, and wanton sexuality cause a bunch of awkward situations. However, it explores some serious themes in a thoughtful way. By growing up outside of society, Bella is able to question social norms, and as her maturity and understanding grow over the course of the movie, she becomes a little wiser than the rest of us. Sexism is one of the many themes explored in Poor Things as the various men in Bella’s life (her mad scientist “father” and various lovers she has) try to control and imprison her.