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Poor Things is one of the best films of 2023. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things breaks conventions in the art of filmmaking. Absurd and deranged but in complete control of itself, this film will go down in history as one of the finest films ever made.
A unique take on the classic Frankenstein trope, the Critics Choice Award winner is adapted from a 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray of the same title. It follows Bella Baxter, a young woman brought to life by a scientist. Bella goes on to experience human life and all its complexities as the film goes on.
The film shares several thematic and aesthetic qualities with some iconic movies of similar genres that push boundaries. If this sounds good, hang around for a list of films that will pique the interest of every absurd cinema lover.
7 films to watch if Poor Things made it to your top ten list of films in 2023
1) The Elephant Man
Directed by David Lynch, The Elephant Man shares the incredible sentimentality that the audience can associate with Poor Things. Both films discover themes of humanity and kindness. The plot of The Elephant Man reads,
"A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence, and sophistication."
2) Ex Machina
A slick sci-fi thriller, Ex Machina is one of the finest films of recent times. Alex Garland directs a stellar cast to make a film that raises questions about humanity's use of power. The film follows a young programmer who was selected to determine the human qualities of an advanced AI humanoid.
Both films are led by strong female characters, but more importantly, the empathetic look at morality is what ties the two films together.
3) Dogtooth
The third feature from Yorgos Lanthimos, Dogtooth, is a surprising film. It is easily recognizable how Poor Things shares themes of autonomy with Dogtooth. The principal characters in Dogtooth are trapped in a perpetual state of childhood by their father, who keeps them locked up to retain their apparent innocence. Bella Baxter in Poor Things shares the emotion of being confined by an unjust father figure.
4) Frankenhooker
An absurd comedy, Frankenhooker will surely keep you hooked. Following a medical student set out to reassemble his deceased girlfriend by attaching different body parts of hookers, Frankenhooker is a quirky look at what makes a human.
Age-old questions of parts versus the sum of a whole plague this film. Although Poor Things differs stylistically from this film, the absurdity of both films makes them both distinctive.
5) Edward Scissorhands
Directed by Tim Burton, this gothic romance is considered a classic. An artificial man who has scissors for his hands and his adventures as he's adopted by a suburban family creates quite a stir. Comedic in parts but fantastical in whole, Edward Scissorhands set the precedent for films like Poor Things. Topics of mortality are heavily explored in both films, making them inseparable in theme and essence.
6) The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stop-motion film directed by Henry Selick. If there is one film that mirrors the horror imagery of Poor Things, it is this film. A staple during Halloween, The Nightmare Before Christmas often gets overlooked for the brilliant film that it is. With visuals of skeletons, dark magic, and corpses, this film leaves quite an impression on the audience.
7) Coraline
Another stop-motion brilliance, Coraline, is based on a 2002 Neil Gaiman novel of the same name. Sharing distinct flavors of absurdism with Poor Things, Coraline explores themes of regret, family values, and desire with great subtlety. The plot of the film is as follows,
"An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets."
These films will provide the right dose of entertainment to anyone missing the absurdism of the Oscar-nominated film.
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