Bella Baxter lives in a strange, steampunk version of old London. A wild scientist brings her body back to life and puts a baby’s brain in her head. She starts out like a child in a grown woman’s body. She learns fast, runs off with a flashy lawyer, and travels to new cities. The story is weird, funny, sexy, and full of discovery.
The movie is built around one clear idea: a woman learning to live free from men who try to own, control, or shame her. Bella chooses sex, work, travel, and learning for herself. Men who want her to stay small often look weak, silly, or cruel. She also talks about fairness, socialism, and equal rights, and she forms a real romantic bond with another woman at a brothel. A normal viewer will notice the strong girl-power path, the digs at old marriage rules, and the free-choice message without needing a film class.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Poor Things.
Woke representation / casting
Fantasy Victorian world softens strict period rules, but key supporting roles still read as diversity-forward: Jerrod Carmichael as the shipboard cynic-philosopher, Suzy Bemba as the Black sex worker who teaches socialism and becomes Bella’s lover, and Ramy Youssef as the kind doctor. Leads are white. Noticeable pattern in meaningful supporting parts, not full “one of each” lead casting.
38%
Woke political dialogue
Clear talk about socialism, fairness, sex work, poverty, and a woman’s right to choose her life. Bella’s lines and plot moments push equality and liberation. Not wall-to-wall modern slogan speech, but hard to miss in the ship and brothel sections.
48%
Identity-driven story themes
The whole film is Bella’s girl-power growth: sex without shame, refusing male ownership, and living by her own rules. Men who control her look broken or evil as she rises. Confirmed same-sex romance with Toinette and a shared home with her at the end add strong LGBTQ weight on top of the feminist core.
78%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Marriage-as-ownership, male entitlement, sexual double standards, and class cruelty are shown as cages Bella must escape. Duncan’s collapse and Alfie’s plan to control her body make old gender power look cruel and ridiculous. This is modern-feeling feminist critique in period dress, not just generic history conflict.
68%
Woke character or canon changes
Not present in this title.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some scattered posts call it girlboss feminism, progressive camouflage, or agenda-like messaging. No big, lasting anti-woke media storm. Most public fight was left-side “not feminist enough,” which does not count here.
18%
Creator track record context
Gray’s socialist and gender-equality politics and Stone’s female-independence framing line up with the movie. Lanthimos and McNamara are more weird-comedy stylists than identity activists. Casting leadership has a stronger diversity focus. Overall moderate, content-aligned context rather than a hard activist crew.
36%
Production
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