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Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. A co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the film stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael. It focuses on Bella Baxter, a fetus in the body of an adult woman in Victorian London who is saved from her mother's suicide via brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. Principal photography took place in Hungary from August to December 2021. Poor Things premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, and won the Golden Lion there. The film was released theatrically in the U.S. on December 8, 2023, and in the U.K. and Ireland on January 12, 2024, by Searchlight Pictures. It grossed $117 million worldwide on a budget of $35 million. Poor Things was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and received various accolades, including four wins at the 96th Academy Awards, two at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, and five at the 77th British Academy Film Awards, with Stone winning Best Actress at each of these ceremonies. Plot In Victorian London, the medical student Max McCandles becomes an assistant to the eccentric surgeon Godwin Baxter. Max falls in love with Godwin's ward, Bella, a childlike young woman. Godwin reveals that Bella's body is that of a woman who was pregnant and committed suicide by leaping off a bridge. Godwin then replaced the woman's brain with that of her fetus, giving her an infant's mind, and named her Bella Baxter. With Godwin's encouragement, Max asks for Bella's hand in marriage. Bella accepts, but as her intelligence rapidly develops, she becomes curious about the outside world and herself. She soon discovers masturbation and sexual pleasure. She runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a debauched lawyer whom Godwin hired to overhaul the nuptial contract. Deciding to let her go, Godwin begins a new experiment with a young woman, Felicity, who matures more slowly than Bella. Bella and Duncan embark on a grand journey, beginning in Lisbon, where they have frequent intercourse. Bella is mistakenly addressed as "Victoria Blessington" by a fellow hotel guest. When Bella becomes difficult for him to control, Duncan smuggles her onto a cruise ship. Bella befriends two passengers who open her mind to philosophy. Duncan attempts to stunt her growth to no avail. He becomes exasperated and indulges in drinking and gambling. During a stop at Alexandria, Bella witnesses the suffering of the poor and becomes distraught. Wishing to help them, she entrusts Duncan's winnings to unscrupulous members of the crew, who falsely promise to give it to them. Unable to afford the rest of the trip, Bella and Duncan are dropped off at Marseilles and make their way to Paris. Seeking money and accommodation, Bella begins working at a brothel. Enraged, Duncan breaks down and Bella abandons him. At the brothel, she comes under the tutelage of Madame Swiney and begins a relationship with a prostitute, Toinette, who introduces her to socialism. Now terminally ill, Godwin asks Max to bring Bella to him. Max finds her after tracking down Duncan, who has been institutionalized. Back in London, Bella reconciles with Godwin and renews her plans to marry Max. The wedding is interrupted by Duncan and General Alfie Blessington. The latter, addressing Bella as Victoria, declares that they were married before her disappearance and that he has come to reclaim her. Bella abandons Max to learn of her past life, but discovers Alfie's violent and sadistic nature and realizes Victoria killed herself to escape him. Alfie confines Bella to his mansion. He threatens her at gunpoint to submit to genital mutilation and a subsequent rape, demanding she drink a sedative. She tosses the sedative in his face, and after a struggle, Alfie accidentally shoots himself in the foot before passing out. Godwin dies peacefully with Bella and Max at his side. Bella follows in Godwin's footsteps by becoming a surgeon with the help of Max and Toinette and transplants a goat's brain into Alfie's head. Cast Production Development Produced by Film4 Productions, Element Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Searchlight Pictures, development on the film began as early as 2009, when Lanthimos went to Scotland to discuss the acquisition of the rights to Poor Things with the author, Alasdair Gray. "He was a very lovely man", Lanthimos said. "Unfortunately, he died just a couple of years before we actually made the film, but he was very special and energetic; he was 80-something [when we met], and as soon as I got there, he had seen Dogtooth and said, 'I had my friend put on the DVD, because I don't know how to operate these things, but I think you're very talented, young man.'" Lanthimos said Gray took him on a personal tour of Glasgow, where Gray showed him several places he had incorporated into the story. While filming The Favourite (2018), Lanthimos revisited the project, which he discussed with Emma Stone, who starred in that film. He began developing Poor Things more actively after the success of The Favourite: "After the relative success of The Favourite, where I actually made a slightly more expensive film that was successful, people were more inclined to allow me to do whatever it is that I wanted, so I just went back to Gray's book and said, 'This is what I want to do.' It was a long process, but the book was always on my mind." While developing the film, Lanthimos and Stone collaborated on the short film Bleat (2022). Pre-production Poor Things was announced in February 2021. Lanthimos felt that working with Stone again gave him an advantage to the production, as they had developed a mutual trust. Stone also discussed how the process of making Poor Things was different from making The Favourite because she also acted as a producer: "It was so interesting to be involved in how the film was being pieced together, from cast to department heads to what have you. Ultimately, Yorgos was the one making those decisions, but I was very involved in the process, which started during the pandemic; we were reaching out to people and casting and everything during that time, because we couldn't go anywhere." Casting Willem Dafoe entered negotiations to join the cast in March 2021. By April, Ramy Youssef was in talks to join. Dafoe and Youssef were confirmed to join in May, with Mark Ruffalo and Jerrod Carmichael also added to the cast. In September, Christopher Abbott was cast. In November, Margaret Qualley and Suzy Bemba were cast, with Kathryn Hunter also revealing she had a role in the film. In preparation for her role, Stone took dance lessons and dyed her hair black, which she admitted was accidental. Lanthimos liked the contrast between the dark hair and Stone's fair complexion, so they agreed to ado.... Discover the Bella Lack popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bella Lack books.