Bonkers, human, horny as hell.

As filmmaking weirdos go, Yorgos Lanthimos is up there with the best. In an industry that can so often celebrate conformity, he is a true outsider and a one-of-a-kind filmmaker with an overt sense of eccentricity that feels as important now as it has ever been.

With a dash of von Trier here, a sprinkling of Haneke there, and a liberal dose of Lynch everywhere, Lanthimos’ style is there to puzzle and provoke in equal measure, however, there’s something a little less ostentatious in the way he achieves it. Through a wonderfully off-kilter filmography that takes in the horror of Dogtooth, the pitch-black comedy of The Lobster, the psychological torment of The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and the period oddness of The Favourite; Lanthimos’ brand of dark, deadpan humour invites you in while deliberately keeping you at arm’s length.

It’s an eccentric approach that’s always likely to polarise opinion, yet that’s half the fun. Teetering on the razor-thin ledge between comedy, absurdity, and tragedy with the straightest of straight faces, the films of Yorgos Lanthimos approach genre with a gleefully deadpan recklessness. One that Poor Things embraces wholeheartedly while taking it all to a new level entirely.

Brought back to life by unorthodox scientist Dr Godwin “God” Baxter (Willem Dafoe), young Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) grows tired of her sheltered existence as she runs off with rakish lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her time, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation in an oddball odyssey of a lifetime.

With such a staunchly idiosyncratic filmography in his back pocket, Yorgos Lanthimos is one of cinema’s greatest living oddballs, however, as demonstrated with the multi-award winning The Favourite, he’s also a filmmaking freak unafraid of the mainstream. Beneath all its quirks, The Favourite was an easily watchable and incredibly enjoyable period piece that saw Lanthimos take all the weirdo charm he’d built his name on and spun them out into something your average cinemagoing casual could easily vibe with.

Clearly keen to solidify this status and to blaze his own bonkers trail into the mainstream, Lanthimos has returned with a star-studded Frankenstein’s monster tale that could only come from him. Weird, wild, and horny as hell, Poor Things may, on the surface, be more than a little reminiscent of early Lanthimos’ efforts like The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, yet, with its big Hollywood lead, fantastical setting, and a relatively simple story at its heart, this is the director painting with far broader brushstrokes than ever before.

In much the same way as The Favourite, Poor Things gets its tonal and visual blend just right, something that frequently hampered Yorgos Lanthimos’ early work. Balancing its director’s penchant for quirkiness and his desire to pursue the surreal with a good dose of heart and a spirited, easily accessible narrative, this is a film that delivers on many levels.

At its core, Poor Things is a classic coming-of-age tale and an earnestly human odyssey of self-discovery that makes it far more relatable and far more consumable than all its weirdness suggests. It’s a factor that will undoubtedly hit a chord with audiences and it’s a testament to Lanthimos’ growth as a filmmaker that he is able to retain his unconventional auteurist sensibilities while offering something deeply relatable to chew on.

At the centre of all this and playing a huge part in Poor Things’ ultimate success, is an Emma Stone performance for the ages. As Bella Baxter, Stone fully and wholeheartedly launches herself into the awkward skin of a character that’s at once bewildering, enthralling, and wholly likeable - and the results are nothing short of iconic.

Unafraid to embrace the outright horniness of her character while plugging directly into Bella’s endearing, loveable, and oddly wholesome naïveté, Stone is Poor Things’ true lynchpin and a huge reason why Lanthimos’ film works as well as it does. Full blooded and frequently full frontal, Stone is left nowhere to hide but flourishes because of it, making Bella one of her most captivating, charismatic, and, above all, empathetic characters to date.

Supplemented by a superb, star-studded cast, Stone goes full tilt at a role that’s at once physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. Whether it’s the deliciously caddish Mark Ruffalo or the broken and brilliantly bizarre Willem Dafoe stood beside her, Stone is a whirlwind of raw, unfiltered emotion and offers a stream of consciousness performance that will have you utterly transfixed throughout.

As Bella’s knowledge of herself, her humanity, and the world around her grows, so too does our connection with the character. It’s a truly astonishing performance, and a mightily brave one at that, as Stone throws caution to the wind in a full throttle turn that will undoubtedly - and deservedly - garner much attention this awards season.

Zany without becoming grating, physical without relying on slapstick, and endearing without growing saccharine, Stone’s Bella, like the rest of Poor Things, hits that sweet spot to offer us something infinitely intriguing, wildly entertaining, and strangely comforting. As she enters each scene in outfits more outlandish and more stylish than the last, Stone becomes one with the curious confection Lanthimos’ has concocted around her.

Like a living, breathing surrealist painting, the world of Poor Things that Bella Baxter inhabits is pure wonder, in the weirdest way possible. Dripping with gothic fantasy and kitschy sci-fi otherworldliness, Bella’s globetrotting adventure is an off-kilter odyssey that feels entirely removed from our reality while remaining oddly familiar and utterly tethered to it.

Brought to life through cartoonishly creative practical sets and outlandish, overtly artificial backdrops that feel ripped from an Old Hollywood backlot, Poor Things’ production design is as batshit as it is brilliant. From London to Paris via Lisbon, this is a journey of discovery for us just as much as it is for Bella, with every turn and every new character adding something bold and brazenly beautiful to the film’s canvas.

This kaleidoscope of colourful curiosities that Bella travels through function as the perfect backdrop for plenty of vital life lessons. Take Frankenstein’s monster and dial the horniness up to eleven and you’ve got Bella, and the lessons that go with these unrepentant, unfiltered desires are at the heart of Poor Things’ potent thematic journey.

A coming-of-age tale at its core, the notion of empowerment is the very foundation upon which Poor Things’ journey is built. The world that swirls around Bella is a wild, vibrant one of delight, horror, and blundering adventure, as our free-spirited hero bucks social norms and finds her truth amidst a society determined to hold her back and shoot her down at every turn.

What begins as a voyage of discovery soon ends with an empowered return home and the convergence of Bella’s carnal desires and emotional truth, as she finally settles into her skin back where she began. Through Yorgos Lanthimos’ idiosyncratic yet wholesome vision and Emma Stone’s spirited, wonderfully empathetic performance, Poor Things proves itself a layered, densely packed bundle of themes that defy its kaleidoscopic visage to deliver a gesticulating jaunt through the human soul.

Bringing his patented brand of off-kilter idiosyncrasy to a fantastical odyssey of self-discovery, Yorgos Lanthimos delivers a cinematic experience like no other. With quirkiness dialled up to eleven, yet filled with heart and humming with thematic resonance, Poor Things is an ultra-bonkers, ultra-horny, visually spectacular coming-of-age tale that rides high on your new favourite Emma Stone performance.

Poor Things is in cinemas now.