Poor Things’ 10 Most Shocking Scenes, Ranked

Filled with sex, violence and perverse scientific experiments, several Poor things scenes shocked and moved the public. Yorgos Lanthimos’ adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel follows Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a grown woman with a child’s brain, as she grows up quickly and comes to understand the world around her through a unique lens. Without the constraints of polite society to oppress her, Bella becomes fixated on sexual pleasure and instant gratification, leading to some intense sex scenes and many regressive outbursts of violence and swearing.

Poor things‘ 11 Oscar nominations (and four wins) are an indication of its critical charm, which is impressive for such a visually confrontational film. Lanthimos uses his signature fisheye lenses along with bright, saturated colors to create a dizzying world where nothing seems to fit. In Godwin Baxter’s (Willem Dafoe) home laboratory, there are frequent scenes of bodies being cut up and experimented on, while strange creatures cobbled together from different animals run around the house. Poor things it establishes a foundation of strangeness, but there are still some shocking scenes that go even further.

10

Bella Bangs On The Piano

Poor Things begins with harsh sounds and disturbing images

The opening of Poor things immediately thrusts the viewer into an unsettling world. Sepia tones and fisheye lenses create a sense of visual discomfort that calls to mind creepy horror classics like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Bella’s discordant pounding on the piano is an affront to the ears. Poor things uses uncomfortable music to reflect Bella’s internal statewith silky fados or orchestral tones showing when she is happy.

Part of what makes the moment so shocking is that follows Bella’s death, which opens the film. The first images are of Bella in color looking sad and jumping off a bridge. To Poor things so cutting to her alive is a shock to the audience. However, it’s also the contrast between these two versions of Bella that is telling. Taking her own life, Bella initially seems like someone who has been through a lot of pain and heartbreak, but the piano scene portrays her as someone full of joyful curiosity.

9

Duncan and Alfie disrupt the wedding

One final twist to ruin Bella’s happy ending

Just when Bella’s odyssey appears to be over, her wedding to Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) is interrupted by the disdainful Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) alongside Victoria’s ex-husband Alfie (Christopher Abbott). General Alfred Blessington wants to get his wife home by any means necessary. It’s a shocking twist introduced so late in the story. However, it presents an interesting connection between the life Bella has built for herself and the one she had before. This leads to the even more shocking moment when Bella decides to go with Alfie without much hesitation.

Despite being seemingly satisfied with Max, Bella is still curious about her past life as Victoria Blessington. Curiosity has always been the character’s driving force throughout the film and it’s fair that, when given the opportunity to see a life she doesn’t even remember, Bella didn’t let it pass her by. At the end of Poor thingsalthough she quickly ends things with the controlling Alfie, it’s clear that a relationship isn’t what’s most important to Bella.

8

Fight on Duncan’s dance floor

Duncan uses violence to assert his own male control

Duncan first becomes interested in Bella because he sees the restrictive marriage contract that God and Max have drawn up for her. He doesn’t know her as a person, but he wants to possess and control her because he sees her as a valuable prize. As soon as she starts to develop more autonomy and opinions of her own, he resents her. Duncan’s insecurities boil over when Bella sees a man winking at her in a restaurant. No scene underlines Duncan’s immature emotionality as well as him meekly wrestling with the man as the band continues to play.

The dance scene itself is a wonderfully fun moment in the film, with the unexpected fight only adding to the savagery of the moment. It’s a pivotal moment in the film, with Duncan being consumed by Bella’s jealousy while realizing he can’t control her. According to choreographer Constanza Macras, Mark Ruffalo was nervous about dancing (via Business Insider):

“Mark was a little scared of the dance at first, but he worked really hard to get it right and it shows because the finished dance looks natural.:

Although Ruffalo sells the dance well, his own insecurities may have also helped the character of Duncan in this moment.

7

God subdues Bella in the carriage

God shows an unexpected brutal wave

God treats Bella like a daughter in some ways, but she still has the strength of an adult when she throws a tantrum. During a carriage ride home after a day trip outdoors, Bella becomes upset and begins screaming, so God subdues her using a cloth soaked in chloroform. Up until this point, God was seen as an eccentric man of science who cared deeply for Bella. However, this moment is a clear sign that no matter how genuine his love for her is, it is an unhealthy relationship.

In many ways, the shocking reaction God has is heartbreaking as it becomes clear how little agency she has in her life with him. It’s a violent reminder that all the men in Bella’s life try to subjugate and control her, even those who are supposed to care for her. Poor things It was considered a feminist masterpiece for portraying men’s reactions to a liberated woman who does not submit to society’s rigid norms.

6

Max operates on God

The most visceral of the poor guys’ many surgery scenes

Poor things There are many uncomfortably close-up scenes of surgeries being performed. Cutting up bodies is an everyday occurrence in God’s life, and the film shows him removing a brain and performing surgery on his students in visceral detail. But no surgery scene is more painful than when Max operates on God to remove what appears to be a malignant tumor in his abdomen.

God is conscious throughout the operation with some anesthetic injections, but he shows no signs of pain. His scientific approach to human life apparently extends to his own body. Poor things It’s a very funny film at times, but Yorgos Lanthimos is certainly willing to make the audience uncomfortable in between these humorous moments. Including these moments of extreme blood may not be what audiences expect, but it adds to the surreal nature of the film.

5

Bella witnesses the slums of Alexandria

Poor Things offers a confronting look at the dark side of the human experience

The first stop on Bella and Duncan’s cruise from Lisbon is Alexandria, where Harry Astley (Jerrod Carmichael) takes Bella on a tour to see the abject poverty in the slums far below the high society cafes and restaurants. Bella is shocked by the confronting image, her first real window into true human inequality and misery. Yorgos Lanthimos frames the slums in broad, separate planes, mirroring the upper-class view of poverty as a monoculture rather than a group of fellow humans.

Bella is the only character who sees them in detail, as shown by her generous but naive donation. However, her screams at the sight of dead babies are perhaps more impactful than anything the film could have put on screen. It’s a moment of immense change for Bella in the film and on her strange journey of discovery. Alexandria’s vision is the end of her innocence. The film’s director of photography, Robbie Ryan, spoke about the power of the sequence (through LA Times):

“She will return home with different eyes than when she left and I think the film deals with that very well visually.”

4

Bella “works” alone with an apple

She discovers pleasure without its taboo nature

When Bella first discovers the depths of sexual pleasure, she does not yet understand the social norms that prohibit certain acts. After the first “working” in bed, as she says, she finds new objects around the house to use for her pleasure. Poor things’ The surprising apple scene highlights how Bella has the mind of a child but the libido of a grown woman. She doesn’t understand why people are so prudish and reserved about something that can bring them so much joy.and she even offers to work as Mrs. Prim when she becomes upset with Bella’s behavior.

In many other films, the moment with the apple might have seemed like an easy way to get some shock value or vulgar humor. Although it fits with Poor things‘ dark sense of humor, it is also an important moment of Bella’s self-discovery and her curiosity about the world. Her actions shock those around her and they insist that she cannot do such things, but her questioning of these social norms often makes her seem like the more elevated person in the conversation.

3

Bella happily mutilates a corpse

Bella’s fascination with violence needs an outlet

During the early stages of Bella’s development, she has an obsession with violence and death, aided by witnessing God opening patients and corpses. Although she is not a malicious person, part of her curiosity about the world and her propensity to act on a whim leads Bella to sudden violent moments. She punches Max when they first meet, expresses a desire to punch a crying baby, and later crushes a frog to death in her hands.

These are all shocking bursts of violence, but they don’t come close to the sight of Bella stabbing a dead man in the eye with scissors and screaming with joy. God allows her to do this to distract her from her patient, knowing that her violent tendencies need some sort of outlet. Emma Stone sells the moment wonderfully, playing it as if Bella were a child innocently breaking her toys for fun.

2

Montage of Poor People in the Brothel

Bella’s sexual awakening takes a fascinating turn

After Bella’s first scene in the Parisian brothel, she returns in search of more employment and soon discovers a much broader definition of sex than she had previously been able to comprehend. Bella is expected to meet all of the clientele’s needs. Some are simple, while others are completely new experiences for her. One man ties Bella up while hitting her leg, and another man slides across the floor like a crab before biting off a handful of her hair.

There are times when she is surprised by her clients’ desire to participate in her services, but she approaches each encounter with the same kind of curiosity and desire to learn that she has in every other aspect of her journey. Poor things‘Intense sex scenes have generated controversy, and this scene certainly gives audiences a lot to talk about. However, Emma Stone praised the way these scenes were filmed:

They were very comfortable. It was always a very small room, there were only a few people, and we had an amazing intimacy coordinator, Elle McAlpine. In some ways, these scenes were easier than the others because they were so choreographed and straightforward.

1

A man uses Bella to show his children how to have sex

Poor Things’ most shocking scene takes the commodification of Bella’s body to new extremes

Bella meets many unusual people who work at the brothel, but none of her encounters are as uncomfortable as the one she has with a father who brings his children to watch him. He first explains to them the importance of foreplay, treating Bella’s body like laboratory equipment. The two boys seem as disinterested as any school-age child could be, and Bella also doesn’t have the experience to understand the awkwardness of the situation. Only the audience realizes how bizarre this scene is, as Bella tries to help in class.

The moment comes late Poor thingsand audiences have seen plenty of shocking moments. However, this scene will certainly be controversial for many people. The idea of ​​Bella having sex in front of children is disturbing enough, but the scene doesn’t just present the idea; he goes on to show it in graphic detail that can be difficult to watch.

Poor Things’ shock value is a big part of its success

Shock value can often be seen as a dismissive term that implies that a film has nothing to offer beyond its moments of gross-out or out-of-control antics. However, Poor things is an example of a film that can have so many aspects working in its favor while still being effective in its intentional efforts to shock the audience. Poor things is an insightful film with a unique look and brilliant performances, especially from Emma Stone. The shocking scenes don’t distract from these aspects, but elevate them into something more exciting..

Director Yorgos Lanthimos has a talent for drawing audiences into his bizarre worlds, constructing them in great detail and making them feel like something worth exploring. From its distinct take on the film’s visual style to the strangeness of this world, audiences want to spend more time here and explore what else it has to offer. Likewise, Stone creates a truly unique and engaging character in Bella, making the audience immediately interested in her story.

It is with these other brilliant aspects that the shocking scenes of Poor things become so effective. Lanthimos quickly captures the audience’s interest and propels them through a journey that becomes increasingly vulgar and wild as it continues. By creating an atmosphere in which viewers don’t know what to expect, the story’s shocking twists hit even harder. Much credit must also be given to Stone, whose fearless performance goes against what audiences might expect from one of Hollywood’s biggest names, contradicting expectations at every turn.

Taking a look at the most shocking moment from Poor thingsthey could have been included in another smaller film and not have had the same impact. It’s easy enough to include shocking moments in a film, but it’s much harder to shape a film that ensures shock isn’t the entire appeal. The fact that Poor things is such a smart, inventive and well-acted film that it makes it hard to believe some of the big changes that occur.