The Golden Lion at the last Venice Film Festival and the Golden Globes for Best Comedy and Best Actress for Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film has already won several prestigious awards and is now on its way to the Oscars. Shortlisted in at least seven categories, “Poor Creatures” should no doubt walk away with the statuette on March 10. Adapted from Alasdair Gray’s eponymous novel released in 1992, the Greek director’s fantasy work is unlike any other film. With a staging that’s at once delirious, surreal and retrospective, shot regularly with a fish-eye and in black and white for a good portion of the film before switching to bright and saturated colors, “Poor Creatures” is a visual slap first and foremost. . The story, as fictional as it is, is nevertheless somewhat political. The female Frankenstein, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) has the body of an adult woman in which Dr. The infant’s brain is transplanted by Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). A childlike creature who speaks in onomatopoeia and walks awkwardly before exploring maturity and sexual pleasure, among other things. Gripped with a strong desire for freedom, the “monster” then becomes a kind of unconscious feminist femme fatale.
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Bella Baxter, the new feminist icon?
A trip to Lisbon with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) changes the situation for the protagonist, until then secluded and deprived of the outside world. She then finds carnal pleasure and becomes eager for a “furious leap” with lawyer Don Juan. As the latter falls in love with her and becomes increasingly possessive, Bella frees herself more and more, throwing away all the traditional dictates of the patriarchal society of the time. Her journey takes her to Alexandria and then to Paris, where, fed up with her lover, she abandons him on the streets of the French capital to join a brothel. Fiercely free and questioning the rules imposed by men of the time (but even today!), Bella Baxter is a female feminist character who will, without a doubt, mark the history of the seventh art.
© Searchlight Pictures
Bella’s retrofuturistic wardrobe with both Victorian and contemporary style
The film opens with Victoria Blessington (the future Bella Baxter) committing suicide from the top of a bridge, wearing a puffy skirt and high-collared turquoise blue jacket. Sometime later, we find the character, now Bella Baxter, wearing an elegant top with wide sleeves and a bloomer, a type of baggy pants worn by women while cycling in the late 19th century. A recurring outfit when she is still locked up in “God” Baxter’s house, switching from time to time for a sleeveless dressing gown with a very wide cut and ruffles. As the story progresses and Bella’s liberation progresses, her outfits become more vibrant, original and a mix of different styles. We see the same white shirt with a bib covered in ruffles on many occasions, often worn with a short sky blue jacket with puffed sleeves inspired by the Victorian look but whose textured and shiny fabric brings a touch of extravagance and modernity. A chic yellow mini skirt, tiny graphic sunglasses, sixties-inspired white ankle boots, a short quilted skirt with a faux-cult train – thus changing the dress of the era – or a long, historic and transparent pink skirt with the previous items, which makes A tasteful contrast of colors and styles. But the more Bella Baxter travels, discovers and learns, the thicker her outfits get. When she first encounters poverty, she realizes wealth and becomes aware of her position in high society. Then we see her in a voluminous, immaculate Victorian dress, topped with puffed sleeves and a ruffled neckline made from a contemporary graphic fabric. Later, when she studied and became politically involved while living in Paris, her clothes became darker and more studious. Ultimately, despite the madness and exuberance of this film, whatever journey the character goes through is told through his style.
A selection of pieces to recreate Bella Baxter’s look in a contemporary way.
© Searchlight Pictures
