A story about re-activating a dead woman with her unborn baby’s brain was always going to make for a strange film but if weird is what you want, Poor Things will not disappoint, writes Adrian Pennington.
The heroine lives in a “dystopian version of a Merchant Ivory film, with the idea of a grand tour,” according to McNamara in the film’s production notes.
Lanthimos set his fellow heads of department a task, which was to make it all as hand-crafted and free of digital trickery as possible. Among other things this entailed shooting it all in a studio - the old-fashioned way - with gigantic sets, shooting on 35mm film using resuscitated filmmaking techniques.
“Yorgos really wanted to create from whole cloth,” Ryan said. “Things weren’t meant to feel real or verité. It’s got its own angle, its own quirk.”
Ryan is best known for his work with Andrea Arnold on Fish Tank (2009), American Honey (2016) and forthcoming release...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.

Behind the scenes – Bookish: “We murder very well”
It seems unlikely that Mark Gatiss would ever get angry but mention ‘cosy crime’ and the Sherlock creator exhibits mild exasperation.

Behind the scenes – F1: The Movie
F1: The Movie gives the sensation of racing at 200mph from a driver’s eye view thanks to two sets of new cameras custom-engineered for the film.
Behind the scenes: Live Aid at 40
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Live Aid made an impact in the summer of 1985 that continues to be felt today. Kevin Hilton explores the background to the seminal charity concert and hears from those who made the broadcast happen.
.jpeg)
How Sky Sports is delivering the Lions Tour down under
Remote production takes centre stage as Sky teams up with Stan Sport to deliver UHD footage at the heart of the action.
.jpg)
Behind the Scenes: Jurassic World Rebirth
The VFX blockbuster opts for an old school production by shooting extensively on location and on film.