Venice Film Festival | Yorgos Lanthimos’s ‘Poor Things’ gets 10-minute standing ovation

The Greek director’s new film stars Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a young woman from Victorian London brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Frankensteinian black comedy Poor Things screened to an encouraging response at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.

According to a report in Deadline.com, the film received a 10-minute-plus standing ovation after the screening amid chants of ‘Yorgos, Yorgos’.

However, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo - the stars of Poor Things - could not be in attendance owing to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. According to the union rules, actors are forbidden from attending premieres and award shows or promoting their projects during the strikes.

Poor Things is adapted from a 1992 fantasy/sci-fi novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. Stone portrays Bella Baxter, a young woman from Victorian London brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist (Dafoe).

“Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation,” reads the film’s synopsis.

Early reviews of Poor Things have been positive. Besides being pegged as a likely Oscar contender, the film has generated buzz over its unreserved sex and masturbation scenes.

“Why is there no sex in movies anymore?” Lanthimos jokingly wondered at the film’s press conference in Venice.