At the Venice Film Festival on Friday, a standing ovation lasting more than ten minutes was given to Emma Stone’s film Poor Things. According to Deadline.com, several were also heard chanting “Yorgos, Yorgos” in support of the movie’s Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos. Emma Stone plays a lady who is revived from the dead by a crazy scientist and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and sexual emancipation in this entertaining scientific fiction dark comedy.
Emma Stone reportedly was unable to attend the festival because of the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike, but director Yorgos Lanthimos stated she gave the part her all. Yorgos discussed her performance and stated, “The character has no shame and Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes. She understood that right away.”
He added, “In the beginning (they) felt a little threatening to most filmmakers but I think it’s like everything: if you work with a good person, it’s great and you realise you actually need them”.
The Golden Lion award will be given on September 9 by a committee that includes filmmakers Damien Chazelle, Jane Campion, and last year’s winner Laura Poitras. Poor Things is one of 23 films vying for the accolade. The festival is not new to Yorgos Lanthimos. His 2018 movie The Favourite, which also featured Emma Stone, took home the festival jury prize and best actress award for Olivia Colman.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie had a perfect score with only positive comments from critics who hailed it as a masterpiece. In his assessment, David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter stated: “Poor Things is an insanely enjoyable fairy tale that creates not just one, but multiple distinctive worlds — each of them a beguiling artwork — peopled by memorable characters fleshed out by a first-rate cast.”
Lauding Emma, Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian penned down, “She takes it to the next career level, or the level beyond the next level.”
