(Life Through the Lens - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

“A woman plotting her course to freedom – how delightful.”

***

The only difference between the free bird and the caged one is, you guessed it, the cage. Both are capable of flight, yet only one gets to stretch its wings. Both are capable of song, yet only one needs the escape. Although the two birds are built of the same pieces, the same instincts, the same capabilities, the two birds are far from the same, forever separated by the insurmountable width of those cage bars.

The cage does not strip the bird of its nature, however, it merely dangles every means of expression forever out of reach. One bird knows nothing but the feeling of untethered wind while the other is left with the knowledge that the wind still blows… but not for her. The breeze still stirs the leaves, the sun still beautifies the sky, but the bars make her wings purely decorative and her ornate color nothing but window dressing. Her blood begs to fly, yet all she can do is send her song instead.

We must recognize the beautiful songs that often serenade are really the cries for freedom uttered by the desperate yet desiring. Birds are made to be free.

***

Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) is an important surgeon in a strange, steam-punk version of Victorian London. Although skilled and adventurous, his hideous physical deformities often relegate him to closed doors and whispered insults. Godwin enlists the help of a promising student, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), for a top secret personal project: reanimation. No, not Disney’s current obsession with recycling its cartoons. We are talking about breathing life into the dead. McCandles is thrilled at the chance to work with Godwin, even if the idea is ludicrous. Turns out, it isn’t ludicrous. It has already begun.

McCandles is introduced to Bella (Emma Stone), a seemingly “normal” lady, albeit a bit slow. The truth is morally gray yet scientifically immense. Bella is actually the resurrected body of a pregnant corpse with the brain of the baby powering the body of the mother. She is not mentally slow. She is simply mentally maturing, slowly catching up with the already-mature body. Bella is a marvel.

Like all fresh minds, Bella is fascinated by everything. Life is pure potential. Godwin, who she lovingly refers to as “God,” seeks to foster her growth but sees danger lurking in the outside world. In an effort to “protect,” he cages her into their home and arranges a marriage with McCandles to ensure her continued caging.

Along comes the lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). He is supposed to be working up the oddly confining marriage contract, but one look at Bella changes everything. He convinces her to run away with him into the world unknown. A world of pleasure, of exploration, of independence, of risk.

Once Bella tastes true freedom, no cage can contain her. She will live free, or she will gladly die trying.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos is a Top 5 director for me. I’ve been awaiting “Poor Things” since it was announced almost three years ago. His Greek weirdness is so liberating. It is imaginative and unexpected. Each of his movies are unique yet wonderfully authentic. Whether it is a romance, comedy, thriller, period piece or fairytale, he is an uncompromising artistic voice.

“Poor Things” is exactly that. It is new in many ways yet rich in the Lanthimos traditions I love so much. More than any of his films before, “Poor Things” is a visual feast. It is overflowing with aesthetic creativity and wonder. I have never seen another spectacle quite like it. It is ceaselessly beautiful. It is truly transporting.

The screenplay by Tony McNamara, based on the book by Alasdair Gray, is as kooky as it is cutting. It tackles the most serious subjects with a fearlessness to be applauded. I wish Lanthimos would have penned the script, but McNamara did a decent impression.

The film is heightened by all its artists. The music by Jerskin Fendrix is melodic, inventive and emotive. It is a scene stealer at times. The cinematography by Robbie Ryan is unbelievable. It captured a splendor that is simply beyond words. The production design by Shona Heath and James Price and the art direction by Jonathan Houlding are tangible magic. The sets, the props, the transitions each invite the audience to places never before visited. The costume design by Holly Waddington is amazingly textured, yet wearable. Each costume upped the bar. The hair, makeup and prosthetics by Nadia Stacy are unforgettable. Every character is fully brought to life.

The artists in front of the camera were equally impressive. Emma Stone is a generational talent on full display, and I do mean full. She shows a boldness and a hunger I’ve never seen in her before. This role required much and was given all. Ramy Youssef is a lover, tender and compassionate. Willem Dafoe is a monster, ambitious and adoring. Christopher Abbott, as Alfie Blessington, is a snake, controlling and condescending, but had me rolling in the aisles. Mark Ruffalo is a dolt, confident then shattered. Ruffalo truly sparkled. His comedic timing and relentlessness were a career best.

I know the movie will divide audiences. While some will call it crude and excessive others will call it daring and determined. Such is the nature of true art. In a year of feminist films, this, to me, is its crowning jewel. One that does not merely suggest but one that searches. One that doesn’t settle. One that doesn’t condescend. It is truly a caged bird set free, not simply just having its cage moved to the window.

REPORT CARD: Poor Things.

Assessment: A breathtaking vision of wholeness