If you’ve seen a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, you know to expect audacious oddity from the Greek auteur. The filmmaker most recently behind the Oscar-lauded The Favourite – and before that, the likes of The Lobster, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, and Dogtooth – conjures confounding images and astonishing performances in his work. And while the teaser for his next film, Poor Things, is only 34 seconds long, it looks like it might be his wildest yet – an eye-sizzling, sci-fi inflected trip, reuniting him with Emma Stone. Check out the first look here:
Well, that’s just shot up the must-see list. Beyond Stone, the film also stars Mark Ruffalo (with, it must be noted, a moustache), plus Willem Dafoe, Remy Youssef, and Christopher Abbott. If you want to see Stone ride a giant fish in black-and-white, or see Ruffalo take a deadpan slap to the face, you’re in the right place.
The film, according to the official synopsis, explores “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.”
Fingers crossed for a more expansive trailer soon – and hopefully, another classic from Lanthimos and Stone to follow up their work on The Favourite. (Clearly they work well together, since Stone also stars in Lanthimos’ already-in-the-can follow-up, the resolutely un-Google-able And, along with Dafoe.) Meanwhile, Poor Things comes to UK cinemas from 8 September.