Ottessa Moshfegh Criticizes Infant Sexuality in ‘Poor Things'

One of the most anticipated, and currently-in-development, projects has got to be Yorgos Lanthimos’s tackling of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation.”

This is a rather shocking novel about a young woman, bored with her seemingly meaningless life, gradually escalating her prescription drug use so that she could sleep through the year. It’s been percolating in development for much time now, and might very well be Lanthimos’ next film after he wraps shooting “Bugonia” in the summer.

In a recent interview, Moshfegh was asked for details about Lanthimos’ adaptation of her novel, and she could only reveal that Margot Robbie is attached as a producer. Right now, it’s gotta either be Robbie or, Lanthimos regular, Emma Stone in the lead role — both would be great.

However, one thing particularly stood out in the interview, that’s when Moshfegh was asked about Lanthimos’s brand of weird, baroque cinema, which does feels like a good match for her macabre aesthetic. While she admitted to loving Lanthimos’ “The Lobster,” she wasn’t quite so keen on last year’s “Poor Things”:

Do I love stories about infants with women’s bodies discovering their sexuality? It’s not my first choice.

I’ve read and heard this complaint numerous times. About how, in “Poor Things,” Emma Stone’s Bella, who has a child’s brain, uses her fully grown woman’s body to have sex, with numerous male characters. Moshfegh seemed turned off by this aspect of the film, and she’s not the only one.

During the film’s opening weekend, The Guardian’s Zoe Williams opined, “Will people take this as a fable about pleasure and constraint, or as a, psychically speaking, paedophilic fantasy?” Of course, Lanthimos exploring the themes of a topic is not endorsing it. There’s no area where the filmmaker approves of the abuse Bella receives in the hands of the men she encounters in the film.

Regardless, I doubt Moshfegh’s comments will affect development in Lanthimos’ adaptation of her novel. She also has David Lowery and Andrew Haigh adapting her stories into films. There seems to be a bright future ahead for Moshfegh in Hollywood.