“Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos doesn’t agree with the criticisms being leveled at the erotic moments in his movie. He has said that he set out to make a movie about sexual liberation, so these scenes were pivotal to the story. Furthermore, he wasn’t prepared to neuter the film to avoid controversy and causing upset among some viewers.
“It’s weird, isn’t it? Why is there no sex in movies?” he said during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival (via Men’s Health). “First of all, it was an intrinsic part of the novel itself — her freedom about everything, including sexuality. And secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film which was going to be prude because that would be completely betraying the main character.”
The controversy surrounding “Poor Things” will undoubtedly continue to stir debate moving forward. However, the film’s defenders believe that Bella Baxter’s mind is fully developed when she starts hooking up with people, and the erotic sequences serve a genuine purpose. Stone addressed the scenes at the Venice Film Festival (per Rappler), noting that they were essential for emphasizing her character’s autonomy. “I was so excited and scared for all the right reasons. Bella doesn’t have any shame or trauma, or even a back story. She’s not raised by a society that is putting these confines on women.”
