Poor Things checked the first box for Oscars as the film won the top laurels at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Lion, which is generally seen as a predictor for the prestigious award.
In the award-acceptance speech, the filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos credited the movie’s lead and producer star, Emma Stone, for turning the project into a reality, per Associated Press.
“This film is her, in front and behind the camera,” the director said.
Expanding on her character, The Amazing-Spider-Man star previously said, “She is understanding what it is to be a member of society and the more autonomous she becomes, the more challenged the men seem to be by it.”
Adding, “I wanted to play Bella because it felt like acceptance of what it is to be a woman. To be free. To be scared and brave.”
Besides Emma, the film also stars Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Suzy Bemba, Jerrod Carmichael, Kathryn Hunter, Vicki Pepperdine, Margaret Qualley, and Hanna Schygulla.
Featuring Victorian-era female empowerment, the movie is based on Alasdair Gray’s novel in 1992.