Poor Things

Bella Baxter. Original artwork. Tool: Microsoft Paint.

I'm in love with Bella Baxter. This isn't a romantic love sparked by a fire fueled by the high heat of a hickory wood. No, it's her brain I'm mad for. In a very literal sense, her brain is the central figure of this film. I’ve never felt this way before about a brain, but I’m coping.

            As Bella develops into a logically honest person, more adult than those around her, Duncan Wedderburn devolves into a juvenile. You see, Duncan thinks of himself as a ladies' man, but Bella disabuses him with her consistent faithfulness to her senses. At one point, she looks at Duncan and says, "Your sad face makes me discover angry feelings about you." Her eyes and mouth worked in tandem to deliver that truth to Duncan.

            Duncan responds, “Right. I have become the very thing I hate. A grasping succubus of a lover. I’ve pried many of them off me. Now I’m it.” No longer the tormentor, but now the tormented. I never felt sorry for him. I rather enjoyed his comical erosion into a sad fool.

            There’s plenty on the internet about the plot of “Poor Things.” I'm not going to go on about that. What I will write is this: originality is a delicacy from Hollywood. When served correctly, it tickles the senses. I recommend you tickle your senses with the highbrow quips of the unflinchingly authentic Bella Baxter.