Poor Things follows Bella, a young woman brought back to life by the unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. Raised without societal prejudices or preconceptions, her desperation to experience the world grows. This need inspires Bella to run away with Duncan Wedderburn on a strange and fantastical adventure across the world.
Yorgos Lanthimos helmed the movie as both director and producer. Poor Things stars a powerhouse cast led by Emma Stone, who is also a producer on the movie, along with Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael. Poor Things is based on the book by Alasdair Gray, with the screenplay written by Tony McNamara.
Poor Things: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know
Poor Things is the eighth movie from The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos. Here’s everything you need to know about the adaptation of the 1992 novel.
Screen Rant interviewed Ramy Youssef about his new movie, Poor Things. He explained how Lanthimos’ directing style stands out from others, describing him as “unhinged in the best way.” Youssef also discussed collaborating with Stone as both an actor and producer, as well as what he learned from working with Dafoe.
Ramy Youssef Talks Poor Things
Screen Rant: This movie is fantastic. I could not stop thinking about it for three days after I saw it.
Ramy Youssef: It sticks with you. It sticks with you. It’s f-cking nuts.
It definitely does. Can you talk to me a little bit about collaborating with Emma Stone and how she was a leader on set, not only as an actor, but a producer as well?
Ramy Youssef: Yeah, she’s a genius. I mean, she’s tracking this character that is at so many different physical and mental states throughout the film. She’s also producing and kind of overseeing so many of the choices with Yorgos. So it’s just so inspiring to be with someone kind of doing all of that at the same time and just having fun keeping up with them.
You worked with Willem Dafoe a lot in this movie. Can you talk to me about how you guys created the dynamic between your characters and maybe what you learned from working with him?
Ramy Youssef: I mean, Willem is such a treat. I mean, he’s probably one of the nicest, kindest people, and he’s also kind of incredibly disciplined. And he had hours of prosthetic makeup and all the stuff he had to do, but somehow always had the biggest smile that his prosthetics would allow him to have. And so I learned a lot from just that mentality of just how hard he works.
And then what is it about Yorgos directing style that makes him stand out from other directors that you’ve worked with before?
Ramy Youssef: I mean, I think he’s unhinged in the best way, right? I mean, I think unhinged to the definition of hinges keeping things together and he’s kind of all about not needing that. It’s not about keeping it together, it’s about it being what it needs to be as unfiltered as possible. And so you can tell he’s not seeking approval in how he directs. He’s actually seeking something that is so purely character driven. It’s almost kind of spiritual because he needs it to be its pure essence. And I think Bella’s character is such a great embodiment of what it could look like for a person to be unhinged from being kept down by society.
What is it about Bella that you think really draws Max in?
Ramy Youssef: I think he’s into how she’s not this really put together person, and she’s so raw and unfiltered and he’s this hardcore medical student and science brain and is in the world of facts and experiments, and she’s kind of the opposite of all of that. And so I think there’s that yin yang of, “Oh, even though I’ve put myself in this world where I want to be very put together, the fact that you are not is why I want to be with you.”
What was it like going from leading Ramy into this being a part of such a powerhouse ensemble? Did you want to take anything from that into a potential season four?
Ramy Youssef: The experience of being on Ramy is so different because it’s like… I’m involved with every piece of it and this was really cool because it was just, “Hey, show up and stand where Yorgos says. And just… ” I go to wardrobe and I just got to try on my wardrobe. I don’t have to okay other people’s wardrobe. It was really cool to just be focused on only one part of it.
And it was really cool to see how a movie is made. I’ve never had a role like this on a film. It’s really my first proper film. And so to be able to see the way that he works and the timeline is so different from television. So it was just really inspiring to see how patient he can be and how much time he can take. Television moves really fast and it’s really crammed.
About Poor Things
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Check back for our other Poor Things interviews:
- Emma Stone
- Mark Ruffalo & Willem Dafoe
- Tony McNamara
- Holly Waddington
- Robbie Ryan
- James Price & Shona Heath
Poor Things
- Release Date:
- 2023-09-08
- Director:
- Array
- Cast:
- Array
- Rating:
- R
- Runtime:
- 141 Minutes
- Genres:
- Array
- Writers:
- Array
- Story By:
- Alasdair Gray
- Studio(s):
- Array
- Distributor(s):
- Array
