Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” just had a screening in Los Angeles for Academy and Guild voters. No surprise, it played like gangbusters. A loud ovation at the end. Lineups around the block and, obviously, a packed house.
You now have some folks saying that it’s our Best Picture frontrunner, yes, even surpassing “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” I’m only seeing it later this month at the New York Film Festival. Its theatrical release date is set for December 8th.
It’s not a stretch to say that “Poor Things” has turned into this fall’s festival critical darling. It’s also catapulted Lanthimos, if he wasn’t there already, as one of the top-tier auteurs in world cinema. Searchlight has a clear winner here.
“Poor Things” has a 94 on Metacritic and sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s said to feature a wowser performance from Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist.
Lanthimos is the eccentric filmmaker behind “The Favorite,” “Dogtooth,” “The Lobster” and “The Killing of A Sacred Deer.” He also has two other films with Emma Stone” (including “AND”) already completed and in post-production.
So, what about Oscar, with some of the biggest fall fest titles having been screened at Telluride and Venice, the top-tier films for Best Picture now include “Poor Things,” “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Past Lives,” “Barbie,” ”Maestro” and “Anatomy of A Fall.”
Will Lanthimos snatch away the elusive Best Director trophy from Nolan? If someone can do it next year, it’s him. Scorsese has already won one and the narrative for the other two is much more infectious.