Venice, September 2, 2023 – The woman who was born again, free from mental patterns and social pressures. A woman who has a female body, but who sees things for the first time and who is trying to understand the nature of sexuality, power, choice. A woman who knows no sin. Shameless, free woman, full of joy. Emma Stone, already a winner of the Volpi Cup in Venice and an Oscar for Best Actress for La La Land, she starred in Poor thingsFilm about Yorgos Lanthimos presented yesterday at the exhibition. A film that has received the loudest applause so far. The film – Emma Stone’s return to Lanthimos, with whom she had already filmed The Favorite – also starred Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. It will be released in Italy on January 25th.with the title “Believe Creatures”, and in the meantime it arrived at the Exhibition, accompanied by a strong smell of scandal.
It will be released in the USA forbidden to “unaccompanied minors under 17”, for “strong and ubiquitous sexual content, nudity, profanity.” Indeed, these elements are not missing. But they are set in a project that is something more. “Poor deeds” is an extraordinary female portrait. A hymn to their greatness, their strength. In the end, the “poor things” are always males. Cynical scholars or unrepentant seducers, clients of brothels or brutal military: no one can compete with the vitality and clear judgment of women. Lanthimos at a press conference talks about the intimate scenes: “I always wondered: why is there not so much sex in the movies?” He responded with a film. “It’s a pity,” he said, “that Emma can’t be with us to tell her story. Sex was a fundamental part of the novel we were working on. Character freedom applies to all spheresincluding sexuality. I couldn’t make a modest film because that would betray character. We needed to trust each other and, like the character, not be ashamed. Emma didn’t have to be ashamed of her body or her nakedness, and she knew right away. As soon as I mentioned something about it, he said: “I see: we are talking about Bella. We will do what needs to be done.”
Emma Stone – missing for a while US actors strike – it’s in the movie Handsome Baxter, the subject of a strange experiment performed by his guardian, Doctor God (God) played by Willem Dafoe, disfigured with scars like Frankenstein’s monster. Bella Baxter is a monstrous creature, unable to walk, having the mental age of a newborn, throwing dishes on the floor. We’ll soon find out why. But above all, we will witness its growth, its discoveries. And the question of sex is by far the most important. Poor Things is a wild, surreal adventure.set in the early 1900s. Emma Stone gives us a magnificent portrait of a woman free in the midst of everyday cruelty and patriarchy around her.