Poor Things thoughts

I am too sleepy to attempt much of a non-spoilers section to this post. This post is growing like coral off of the notes I made on paper after a screening. But: Poor Things, like The Favourite, has Yorgos Lanthimos directing, Tony McNamara writing, and Emma Stone as a lead - really the lead, this time. And they are all doing what they do as well as ever: it is well-designed, uncomfortable, sharp, and funny.

The beginning of the movie was dense with surprises when I first saw it. The second time, all the elements it introduces were old acquaintances: ah yes, hello again perfectly normal [person/animal/place]. I liked it enough to see it a second time in theatres partly because of how expansive it felt the first time; I'm pleased I did, and not just because it helped me gather my thoughts about things that were niggling at me - I had a great time both times - but the whole thing did feel smaller when I knew where it was going.

I notice myself getting very immersed in movies these days; or maybe I mean I've seen a lot of examples of movies aimed directly at the brainstem over the last few years. This, Dune, Across The Spiderverse, Everything Everywhere All At Once. Is spectacle hitting me different? Or am I just forgetting past immersions?

( Complete spoilers commence )