Lovers of Yorgos Lanthimos are poor things no more, as the full trailer for his first feature in five years has debuted.
“Poor Things” opens September 8 from Searchlight Pictures and stars Emma Stone, who earned an Oscar nomination for 2018’s “The Favourite,” Lanthimos’ dark period piece written by Tony McNamara, who returns again to pen this visually sumptuous twist on the Frankenstein story.
The film centers on the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
The cast also includes recent “Sanctuary” stars Christopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” breakout Kathryn Hunter, plus comedians Jerrod Carmichael and Rammy Youssef. Given the film’s September — and awards-friendly — release date, expect “Poor Things” to show up at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
“Poor Things” is based on Scottish author Alasdair Gray’s postmodern 1992 novel about a woman who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband and is resurrected with the brain of her unborn child. Star Abbott recently had high praises for the film: “First of all, the set design was incredible. You can see in the teaser how wild it looks, and while it didn’t look exactly like that, I was sort of amazed by how magical the actual sets felt and how detailed they were. When I saw the teaser as well, it was even more vivid and wild than it felt on set. So it just sort of doubled itself, and it looks incredible,” he said.
Lanthimos has been nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture and Best Director for “The Favourite,” and Best Original Screenplay for “The Lobster.” The Greek filmmaker was notably shunned from the 2010 Best International Feature Oscar race for his dystopian drama “Dogtooth.”
Watch the trailer for “Poor Things” below.
