I thought this was a brilliant reading of Poor Things by Zoë Rose Bryant in contrast to slightly stultifying arguments about whether this is a feminist film, what sort of feminism it is and whether it embodies this effectively:
And so, it was also because of this that I knew I’d have a special connection to Poor Things as soon as it was announced. A movie about a woman being brought back from the dead and offered the opportunity to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation and live a life far beyond the social constraints formerly placed on her? Come on – Bella Baxter is one estradiol tablet away from being an explicitly trans character. And considering how often we get explicitly trans characters in cinema (read: not often), we have to claim a few every now and then whose experiences at least somewhat align with ours. But few have personalities and emotional progressions that run as parallel to ours as well as Bella’s do. The moment I realized Bella was not just “some dead body” that had been brought back to life, but the body of a woman who had killed herself and now inexplicably been given the chance to “start over” (sound familiar?), I knew she was different.
https://offscreencentral.com/2023/12/08/poor-things-is-the-trans-fairy-tale-i-never-knew-i-needed/
Do read the full piece here. I share Zoë’s sense that Bella’s “experience abroad has been reduced so far by many to how much sex she has”. It highlights how what in asexuality studies is called the sexual assumption – or at least I call it that – centres sexual attraction in a way that distorts and reduces the wider panoply of experiences around connection. There’s a complexity to Bella, sexuality and beyond, which is utterly vandalised by arguing about whether the extent of her fucking is empowering or not. Zoë captures this beautifully here:
When Bella leaves home, her experience abroad has been reduced so far by many to how much sex she has. And it’s certainly not altogether untrue – she does fuck a lot. But I think those who diminish Poor Things to its sex scenes – or its leading lady’s nudity – are missing the point entirely. It’s not the act of sex itself that’s important to Bella, but what it teaches her about herself. What she learns about what she likes, what she doesn’t, how she can use her sexuality to her advantage, and how it can be used against her. Likewise, while sexual exploration and experimentation might not be a part of everyone’s transition journey, it most certainly played a role in mine, in the messiest yet ultimately most meaningful manner possible. After refusing to characterize myself as a sexual – or even gendered – being for almost five years, I think it’s only natural to be consumed by a yearning for connection when finally feeling aligned with your body for the first time in forever. But the strength of that yearning means you’ll throw yourself into countless questionable situations just to feel something – anything. However, it’s only in that recklessness – and in the mistakes we make along the way – that we learn who we really are.
https://offscreencentral.com/2023/12/08/poor-things-is-the-trans-fairy-tale-i-never-knew-i-needed/
I found this bit of the review particularly powerful:
By the time Bella returns home at the end of the movie, she’s undoubtedly evolved, but it’s made clear that she’ll likely spend the rest of her life learning, and I think I will too (personified most potently in a third act excursion in which a presence from her past life re-emerges and attempts to exert control over her and she must find the strength to shake him off once and for all, just as we – and I – will never stop having to argue for the right to define ourselves and our lives on our own terms with those who refuse to see us as we are today
https://offscreencentral.com/2023/12/08/poor-things-is-the-trans-fairy-tale-i-never-knew-i-needed/
Mark Carrigan 