Poor Things(Yorgos Lanthimos) Oscar favorite?

The early Venice reviews are glowing

Depends on how much money Searchlight pictures spends on the film's campaign. It does look good though.

Well the studio element is interesting because to my knowledge

Netflix - Maestro (which I think he jewish element in Hollywood is going to bury the film)
Apple - Killer of the Flower Moon, Napoleon
Universal - Oppenheimer
Warner Brothers - Barbie, The Color Purple(might get pushed back)
A24 - Past Lives, The Zone of Interest
Miramax - The Holdovers
Amazon - Air

It looks good and I want to see it. I predict it will get several nominations, but I don’t think it will win any major awards. I think Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon are more likely to be the big Oscar winners.

Yup. Which is why the oscars should be completely disregarded as a barometer for film quality. Not many indie films win those big awards.

What even is an "indie" film, we saw what happened with To Leslie last year.

Anything that isn't made or distributed by the big 5 majors I guess. Although I agree, the term indie is a very poor descriptor. Parasite was hardly an indie film with all the dosh that Neon put into it. And Apple, Amazon, Netflix have to be in the Hollywood conversation despite being non traditional major studios.

But back to Lanthimos, I'd watch anything he makes. Really great director. This is shaping up to be an amazing year for film, there are some top level directors releasing films......but the only ones that are likely be in consideration for best picture will be the ones that pay for it.

I fhink after Nomadland (Hulu) and Coda (Apple) you can't just go by the big five. These aren't really studio films but some weird nebulous blob where randos are picked up and sent out as award bait.

What did people actually think about Poor Things, beyond the Oscars?

I haven't seen Poor Things yet, but it is coming out on digital this Tuesday. It could realistically win up to 4 Oscars or it could possibly win none.

I liked it a lot, but didn't love it on first viewing. I really want to see it again though, which is probably a good sign.


I thought Emma Stone and her character Bella were fantastic. Mark Ruffalo was also good, very funny. The production design was incredible.


I felt as a picaresque storyline it did sometimes lurch from one thing to the next just because, rather than flowing naturally, especially in the final section.

I just watched it today. My review: Emma Stone is fantastic here, in a career best performance. Her performance is funny, interesting, complex, and bold. The production design and costumes are excellent. The screenplay is wonderful with some memorable and amusing dialogue. Poor Things is a delightfully demented, weird and wild, exceptionally well made cinematic experience. My second favourite of this year's best picture noms and my fifth favourite film of 2023.

After watching Poor Things, I'm now predicting it to win best production design. I think that will be the film's only win, but it is competitive in costumes, make up, and actress, so it could potentially pick up a win in any of those categories.

I’ve finally managed to rewatch it, and I agree! It’s really quite fun and quirky. On second watch, I felt like the character’s development (both diegetically and beyond) loosely followed the stages of child/teen development, from being, for lack of a better word, to cynicism. Seems rather obvious what with the plot, but it only really struck me last night when I rewatched it. Overall a unique little thing. I’m growing more partial to it as I analyse it more.

That said, I only have one (!) irl friend that I feel I can recommend it to, and even that feels like a lot. I was texting her about it yesterday and did in fact use the words ‘delightfully demented’, and then kept thinking I was quoting someone… now I know.

That description is spot on.