Visually stunning, subversive, and deliciously fun
This film is primarily satire. It is a playful take on the Frankenstein template: there's a creator and a "monster", except the creator is burdened with his own monster-like and doomed qualities (a victim of experimentation himself) and the creation is blessed with beauty, free will, and power.
The gender-swap is what makes all the difference: Bella (given the name of "beauty" rather than a monstrous name) would have been a "born sexy yesterday" trope, i.e. That common 80s-and-earlier trope, where a sexually appealing grown woman has the mind and world-knowledge of a child, therefore relying on a male mentor to teach her - and use her. But she fully turns the trope on its head when her free will shines through from the very beginning, as she quickly realises she can seize her own freedom and become whoever she likes.
Freudian influences aside (we see Bella going through various stages of maturity, governed by the "ego" and then the "superego"), there isn't too much to analyse about this film's depth. It's all pretty self-explanatory, while also unhinged and most of all fun. I feel that some critics' obsession with finding deep meanings just because it's an art-house film takes away from the film's main mood, which is unapologetically entertaining, up to the very final scene.
Visually, there's so much to enjoy. All the Victorian and Steampunk references, in an unlikely and yet entirely successful marriage with Surrealist imagery (I especially got some Frida Kahlo vibes). After seeing the trailer, I was worried about whether and how the heavy use of CGI landscapes would work, but it really works just fine, specifically within those Surrealist aesthetics.
It's a film that doesn't let you get bored for one second. Emma Stone just slays every single scene, with mind-blowing physicality. All her scene partners are equally enchanting. I loved Mark Ruffalo's buffoonery as Bella's increasingly desperate lover and Willem Dafoe's eerie and almost heartbreaking presence as "God" (short for Godfried, but you see what they did there).
It's unique.
It's masterful.
It's great cinema.
The gender-swap is what makes all the difference: Bella (given the name of "beauty" rather than a monstrous name) would have been a "born sexy yesterday" trope, i.e. That common 80s-and-earlier trope, where a sexually appealing grown woman has the mind and world-knowledge of a child, therefore relying on a male mentor to teach her - and use her. But she fully turns the trope on its head when her free will shines through from the very beginning, as she quickly realises she can seize her own freedom and become whoever she likes.
Freudian influences aside (we see Bella going through various stages of maturity, governed by the "ego" and then the "superego"), there isn't too much to analyse about this film's depth. It's all pretty self-explanatory, while also unhinged and most of all fun. I feel that some critics' obsession with finding deep meanings just because it's an art-house film takes away from the film's main mood, which is unapologetically entertaining, up to the very final scene.
Visually, there's so much to enjoy. All the Victorian and Steampunk references, in an unlikely and yet entirely successful marriage with Surrealist imagery (I especially got some Frida Kahlo vibes). After seeing the trailer, I was worried about whether and how the heavy use of CGI landscapes would work, but it really works just fine, specifically within those Surrealist aesthetics.
It's a film that doesn't let you get bored for one second. Emma Stone just slays every single scene, with mind-blowing physicality. All her scene partners are equally enchanting. I loved Mark Ruffalo's buffoonery as Bella's increasingly desperate lover and Willem Dafoe's eerie and almost heartbreaking presence as "God" (short for Godfried, but you see what they did there).
It's unique.
It's masterful.
It's great cinema.
- elliest_5
- Jan 30, 2024