And here we are at the last Best Picture nominee of the year! I met my movie-watching goal this Oscar season, so I’m pleased about that. No surprise that Yorgos Lanthimos delivers up another wild, weird film.
Dr. Godwin Baxter is conducting an experiment: her name is Bella. In this racy, topsy-turvy riff on Frankenstein, Bella is a brand-new human in an adult body, learning everything for the first time. As she improves her motor skills and vocabulary, she explores the joys and pitfalls of food, discovers the thrill of orgasm, and longs for adventure in the world outside Baxter’s home. Despite the scientist’s efforts to “control her variables” and keep her inside for the purity of the experiment, Bella embarks on all manner of eye-opening experiences when she’s swept away by a caddish lawyer.
This is the third Lanthimos film I’ve seen, and while I like The Lobster and The Favourite, I think this one hits me the hardest. It’s a little less remote than his usual style, which helps me connect more to the characters and their interactions. Bella herself is fascinating, all curiosity and enjoyment and single-minded focus on instant gratification, and the film around her is peopled with interesting characters. From the distant Baxter (a former subject of experiments himself) to his earnest assistant Max to the immature cad Duncan, they all pop onscreen and play off of Bella in entertaining ways.
For me personally, I wish slightly less of Bella’s education of the world revolved around sex, but I admit it makes sense. After all, she’s a new human who just discovered her clitoris, plus she has no inhibitions and very little sense of what’s considered “polite” in society. But I also really like to watch her try new foods, experience fallen leaves for the first time, make new friends, and react to hearing music on the street. I could’ve used a little more balance in her experiences. (That said, the film is based on a book that I haven’t read—the source material could be the same way.)
The film received eleven Oscar nominations in all, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s also poised for what I imagine could be quite the cleanup in the design categories—the sets, props, and costumes are consistently remarkable to look at. I especially like the design of Baxter’s house.
Emma Stone, nominated for Lead Actress, is really captivating as Bella. I love watching her extensive development over the course of the film—Stone’s choices are consistently interesting, and it’s great to see Bella come into herself. And Mark Ruffalo is nominated for Supporting Actor for his role as Duncan. Though he enters into their lavish tryst with an eye toward playing with her until he gets bored, he gets much more than he bargained for with Bella. The film also features the always-good Willem Dafoe as Baxter, a sweet Ramy Youssef as Max, Jerrod Carmichael as a jaded new friend for Bella, and Kathryn Hunter (lately Syril Karn’s mother on Andor) as a Parisian madam.
Warnings
Copious sexual content, violence, language (including the R-word and the C-word,) drinking/smoking/drug references, disturbing images, some gross-out humor, strong thematic elements (including suicide and domestic abuse,) and a disabled character played by a nondisabled actor.
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