Well, it appears the rumors are true. Yorgos Lanthimos has found his next picture, and it will reunite him with “The Favorite” star Emma Stone. The film, “Poor Things” is an adaptation of the Alasdair Gray satirical novel for Searchlight Pictures and the U.K. Film4. “Poor Things” is a Frankenstein-esque Victorian tale of love, discovery, and scientific daring. The novel tells the incredible story of Belle Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by an eccentric but brilliant scientist.
Deadline also adds that Willem Dafoe is in talks to co-star in the film. Stone is obviously a shoo-in for Baxter, but Searchlight is keeping mum on whether Dafoe is playing the scientist or another supporting role.
Here’s a Good Reads official synopsis of the book:
One of Alasdair Gray’s most brilliant creations, Poor Things, is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter— a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter’s scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless’s jealous love for Baxter’s creation.
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The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be “the whole story” in the hands of a lesser author (which, in fact, it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland’s most accomplished authors.
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Sounds like territory that’s not dissimilar to the work that Lanthimos did with “The Favorite,” tackling period with comedy, but then also a genre twist. Tony McNamara, also known for Hulu’s “The Great,” also wrote “The Favorite” script, is penning this one too, so the similarities are definitely in the air. McNamara is also writing the still-gestating Lanthimos project, “Hawkline Manor.”
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Early plot details said the Bella Baxter’s character was a pregnant woman who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband, so this one will be bizarre, but also strangely topical as well, perhaps in its ideas of toxic men, control, patriarchy, and more.