The author of this article: Li Xiaotian
The 96th Oscars has come to an end. " Oppenheimer " won 7 awards in one fell swoop, which was highly anticipated!
Also because of "Oppenheimer", this Oscar has become a rare bumper harvest in the past seven or eight years. Apart from "Oppenheimer," only "Poor Things" won four awards. The other award-winning films are basically the same.
The only suspense at this Oscars also happened in "Poor Things". That is the Best Actress nomination, which has been swinging between "Poor Thing" star Emma Stone and "Killers of the Flower Moon " star Lily Gladstone.
Ordinarily, after Lily Gladstone won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series and the Screen Actors Guild Award, she has basically locked in the Oscar for Best Actress, and the balance is tilted in her favor.
However, the final result of the Oscar announcement was that Emma Stone had a slight upset and came from behind to win the second Oscar for Best Actress in her acting career. The first one was obtained with " La La Land ".
Emma Stone, born in 1988, is only 36 years old and has already won two Oscars. Think about it, it took Meryl Streep 27 years to win her second Oscar. "Cohen's Wife" Frances McDormand's first and second Oscars came 22 years apart. Emma Stone did it in only 7 years from 2017 to 2024.
There is no doubt that among the young generation of actresses in Hollywood, Emma Stone has become the undisputed No. 1, no one.
The American Golden Globe Awards classified "Poor Things" as a comedy. Although Emma Stone also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy, it is still difficult for the comedy category to regain the best actress from the drama category. But Emma Stone did it, it’s very powerful, the strongest on the surface!
Although, Emma Stone's two awards were somewhat of a coincidence, as they were both non-crushing victories. In "La La Land", she met the powerful Isabelle Huppert (" she "). This time she met the unexpected Lily Gladstone ("Killers of the Flower Moon"), Both opponents had amazing aura and outstanding acting skills. Emma Stone's victory was achieved through a late strike in a seemingly hopeless situation, overtaking in a corner, and achieving a counterattack. Although there were some controversies in both times, and Emma Stone's roles were both a bit flattering and very impressive, no one dared to deny Emma Stone's acting skills. Everyone felt that she was worthy of the title of Best Actress. .
So, what is "Poor Thing" really about? Why can Emma Stone win the Best Actress Award?
"Poor Thing", this name is not easy to understand. If you change the name to "Female Frankenstein", it will suddenly become clear.
"Frankenstein" is a novel published in 1816, written by Mary, the wife of the famous poet Shelley. Later, " Frankenstein " was put on the big screen by Hollywood. It was filmed again and again, and it has become a classic IP.
"Frankenstein" is about a scientist named Frankenstein who found various human body parts from cemeteries and other places, spliced them together into an ugly monster in the shape of a human body, and let the other party possess it under a lightning strike. life. However, this monster gradually became out of control, escaped the professor's control, and became very dangerous...
You must know that the time when the novel was published happened to be during the European Industrial Revolution, which was still in the steam age. The literati of the era were full of doubts and panic about the future of science and technology. This kind of fear is called scientific fear, also called technophobia. It is human beings' fear of the uncontrollability of unknown fields. It is also a common theme setting in many science fiction novels.
Those broken pieces of human body can be resurrected by splicing them together. To today's people, this seems very irrational, very unscientific, and even stupid.But for people in the steam age, they feel that science and technology are beyond their control. This situation may happen under the crazy control of Frankenstein, and it can easily get out of control and cause huge damage to the future. This is very worrying and a bit funny, but this way of thinking has been inherited and has been stubbornly passed down. Like in "Dune", after highly developed technology ruled mankind, highly degraded mankind once again fell into the feudal slave age. In addition, the control and enslavement of human beings by technology in " Terminator " and "The Matrix" also come from the fear of computer computing power. "tribody" and "The Wandering Earth" are the products of human beings' agnostic fear about the evolution of the universe and alien civilization.
"Poor Thing" returns the story to the era of the first industrial revolution and to "Frankenstein". The story is a re-creation of "Frankenstein", just changing the name of the character, the setting and routine of the story It's all the same old stuff, and could even be seen as a fanfic of "Frankenstein".
fanfic, it is very difficult to make a good movie. We have seen similar fanfiction movies including "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Lincoln the Vampire Hunter", etc., all of which made people laugh and cry. Those who despise it also accuse it of destroying classics and trashing famous works/celebrities. Even though the director of "Lincoln the Vampire Slayer" is still the famous director Timo Bekmambetov, who has made famous films such as "Wanted", "Sunday Watch" and "Ben-Hur", the film has been smashed.
"Poor Thing", as a "Frankenstein" fanfic, can it be filmed well?
director Yorgos Lanthimos used four Oscars and a Venice Golden Lion to prove that he can do it and shoot it extremely well, making it a new classic. This is the power of a director. Just like many directors who wanted to direct "Dune" but were deterred, Denis Villeneuve made a masterpiece as soon as he made it. This is the gap. Huang Jingfu made a classic short story like "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" into a high-octane modern crime film, which also relied on the director's skills.
Therefore, I have to admire Yorgos Lanthimos. This Greek-born director has already sent Olivia Colman to the Oscar-winning actress throne with " darling ". This time And with "Poor Thing", she sent Emma Stone to the Oscar-winning actress throne, which can be said to be a queen-making machine. It is estimated that all the powerful actresses in Hollywood will look forward to working with him in the future, and their resources will increase. His other works, such as "The Lobster", "Dogtooth" and "The Killing of a Sacred Deer", are all very distinctive films and are worth watching.
Back to "Poor Thing", if this kind of new transformation of an old classic wants to fully impress people, it must be new wine in old bottles, and new ideas told in the old shell. "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Pests" is a typical example. It is not simply about shooting tigers and slaying dragons, but about eradicating gangs and destroying cults, turning it into a completely new story. This is also the subtlety of "Poor Things".
"Poor Thing" makes full use of the seemingly nonsensical setting in "Frankenstein", implanting the brain of a baby into the body of an adult woman, so that a woman who clearly looks like an adult is actually He is an innocent child who is ignorant of the world. Then, use this child's eyes to look at the world.
Therefore, "Poor Thing" just uses the setting of the scientific experiment in "Frankenstein", and then tells a story that is a brand new and original story. In fact, it tells a story about women's rights and equality, which is a very modern story.
Bella, played by Emma Stone in the film, is somewhat similar to the ancient princess played by Amy Adams in "Enchanted". She accidentally traveled to the New York metropolis. The innocent princess's life in the modern city The encounter was somewhat funny and quite comical. The starting point of "Enchanted" is a romance film, a somewhat comedic romance. The film is also very good-looking, but the starting point is too low."Poor Thing" also tells the story of how an ignorant young woman grew up step by step in a materialistic society. During this growth process, the recovery and growth of women's consciousness and initiative made this woman The film has become more sophisticated and is no longer a simple coming-of-age sketch.
Last year's hit " Barbie " is actually somewhat similar to "Poor Thing". Both are about an ignorant woman's recovery and growth of female consciousness in modern society, and both have strong feminist ideas. However, the story of "Barbie" is childish, and the form of expression is too noisy. It can only be lively for a while, but not lasting.
"Poor Thing" uses the awakening of sexual consciousness, to self-control of the body, to sexual utilization, and finally to social consciousness beyond sexual freedom. Through Bella's personal experience, it tells the story of female consciousness from ignorance to The whole process from awakening to transcendence is very powerful.
Although the film is full of masturbation, sex, and even promiscuity, the film does not feel obscene at all. Sex is just a tool for women to awaken their consciousness, from realizing the existence of their own bodies to self-control of their bodies, and then to To reach spiritual freedom beyond the body, this process is also a process from concrete to abstract. "Poor Things" was shot so well with a male director at the helm.
If it were a female director, the film might be more restrained, more self-conscious, and not as open-minded. Yorgos Lanthimos can move it freely, carry it, put it down, and handle it at will. On the surface, it feels like a male gaze, but at the core, it still speaks from a female perspective.
Note, it’s women’s rights, not women’s boxing.
Feminist films directed by female directors often unknowingly turn into women's punches, pushing female consciousness into the horns and cutting corners. "Mrs. Spider" shown in the cinema is a typical example. It is obviously a film with a leading female protagonist, but it despises the market from the beginning and eliminates female consumption from the market perspective. The heroine is obviously very beautiful, but she just plays it off. She looks like a village girl, sternly refusing to be consumed by the market. But movies are obviously a market consumer product. If you oppose the market harshly, the market will abandon you very sharply, and it will eventually become a super joke.
There are a lot of sexual elements and sexual behaviors in "Poor Thing". Yorgos Lanthimos' presentation is to avoid taboos and show what is more revealing, but not to the point of consumption and not to exploit women. , which makes these shots obviously maintain restraint, and truly achieve "lustful but not lewd", click to stop.
Emma Stone's crazy and uninhibited performance in the first half of the film is not "Harley Quinn" at all. Her subsequent dignification and rationality gave Bella a completely different personality before and after the film, which was extremely challenging for her acting skills and very challenging. Challenge actors to their limits.
For successful actresses in Hollywood, they are generally unwilling to make too many sacrifices for acting, especially for scenes that expose physical weaknesses, and they will not accept them if they can. But Emma Stone took it and devoted herself wholeheartedly, making great sacrifices, but also interpreting the role extremely well. Although Emma Stone's thin body made her breasts appear less firm and attached softly to her body, which was clearly visible to the audience, she accepted it calmly.
"Poor Thing" takes the form of a chapter-like story. For Bella, the character displayed in each chapter is completely different, and her growth can be seen with the naked eye. This difference is fully displayed in Emma Stone's interpretation.
Emma Stone used body language to outline the changes in the character, while Lily Gladstone used a strong aura to show the inner world of the character in "Killers of the Flower Moon". The two competitors in the same Oscars showed There are two distinct extremes, one goes inside and the other goes outside, and both perform their respective roles extremely well. In fact, it's not a surprise that either of the two people won the award, it's within a hair's breadth.
But off-screen, it is obvious that Emma Stone’s extroverted performance is more likable, and Emma Stone is also more popular throughout Hollywood. These as bonuses have also brought her some extra Fraction. After all, Hollywood is also a world, and there are always people and sophistication involved.
But no matter what, it is no accident that Emma Stone won the award. It is a demonstration of her strength and deserves celebration.
