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Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is a medical wonder, the daughter of re-animator Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who himself is a bit of a wonder. But, there’s something even more peculiar about Emma, a child like innocence with a yearning to experience the world; so, when known womanizer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) promises young Bella the moon and the stars it’s a wonder why more red flags aren’t raised. Whisked away by Duncan, Bella appears to be a quick study of the streets, growing wiser and more capable of fending for herself, it won’t be long before the world is in the palm of her hand.

Written by Tony McNamara and Alasdair Gray and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, this surrealist modern Frankenstein delivers a challenging punch while spinning an incredibly sophisticated and equally bizzare story that centers around the finding of one’s self, sexuality, and what it is to be human; all the while done from the perspective of a scientist carefully watching over an experiment and tackled in a way that only Lanthimos seems capable of in absurdist strokes of genius. And, while the whole cast is phenomenal, Stone’s commitment to character development shines the brightest of the bunch demanding extra consideration as we roll into awards season. Sharp art direction, cinematography, and score, this packed gem will give plenty to chew on for further discussion, in fact, this is the type of film that begs to be discussed, certainly no two perspectives will be identical. Running two hours and twenty one minutes this gem is worthy of an open mind, Poor Things is rated R.