The carefully crafted set of 'Poor Things'

“Poor Things” is a film adapted by the director Yorgos Lanthimos from the novel “Poor Things” by Alasdair Gray, a postmodern Victorian twist on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. In the story, Dr Godwin Baxter resurrects a corpse by replacing her brain with that of her unborn foetus. The film follows Bella Baxter in her newly animated body as she embarks on a journey of growth and self-discovery whilst navigating the rules of and expectations of Victorian society. The production team wonderfully makes use of clothing, set design and colour to display Bella’s evolving identity and growth visually.

One essential aspect of Bella Baxter’s character is her resistance to conform to Victorian norms and refusal to follow the rules of “polite society”- this is often reflected in her wardrobe. Costume designer, Holly Waddington, took creative liberties with late 19th century fashion and specifically chose to forgo use of corsets, explaining that Bella was a woman who could not be “moulded” and “shaped” to fit “societal norms” and thus “would have felt wrong” to use corsets, a stifling piece of garment. At the start of the film, Bella’s childlike behaviour is reflected through the clothes that Mrs Prim dressed her in, including garments that resembled “nightwear” and “underwear”. This not only portrays Bella as young and immature but also someone who is lacking control. As Bella matures and gains agency throughout the film, so does her clothing, garments in which she picked and chose herself when she first set off to Lisbon. Bella has a prominent and unconventional style of large, puffy sleeves and loose, flowing designs that were often “incomplete”, indicative of her “uncontainable” nature and defiance to observe proper Victorian fashion. Later on, as she satisfies her thirst for knowledge and education, her clothes become darker and more stiff mirroring academic men in those spaces yet her sleeves remain puffy and her skirt short, reminding us that she has own distinct identity.

The brilliant set design pieces by Shona Heath and James Price is also a fascinating reflection of Bella, a “fantastical, adventurous, surreal magpie world” as seen through Bella’s eyes. In Baxter’s house, Bella’s desire to explore the outside world is stifled and that is mirrored through their use of “padded walls” and “rounded walls”, symbolic of her entrapment. As she ventures into the broader world, the expansive cityscapes of her travels signify her growth at each stage of her journey. Each location that Bella visits is imbued with symbolic architecture, a pivotal moment of Bella’s growth happens in Alexandria where the slums were decorated with “fiery” and “blood-red” designs , depicting “hell” conveying Bella’s first introduction to misery and suffering. In a Parisian brothel, Bella’s innocence is highlighted through Bella’s inability to distinguish a hotel from a brothel despite the designs of “phallic windows” and “carvings” from “naked women”. Yet Bella is able to subvert traditional expectations by agreeing to work there in order to freely explore her sexuality in an unflinching confrontation of societal taboos. By the end of the film, the set transitions to a serene garden, full of greenery and foliage contrasting the extreme quirkiness of earlier designs symbolising Bella’s peace and self-acceptance and bringing a sense of familiarity to the viewer.

Colour is used fabulously by Lanthimos in varying shades, brightness and hue to play an integral role in portraying Bella’s emotional journey. In Baxter’s house, the monotone black-and-white palette indicates Bella’s boredom and the mismatch between her vibrant inner life and her constrained surroundings. When Bella ventures into Lisbon, Bella’s world explodes with bright and saturated colours, reflecting her newfound freedom and fascination with the world. Despite the real-life Lisbon being littered with blue tiles that resonate with the colours of the sea, Yorgos decided to subtract blue entirely from the set making it feel both “familiar and uncanny” as Holub says, presenting the viewer the same wonder that Bella feels. As Bella confronts darker truths of the world, the film’s colours grows dimmer. This is exemplified in Alfie Blessington’s shadowy and red house where Bella was ultimately confined to. The moody tone of the scenes signify Bella’s discomfort and aversion to her oppressive and threatening husband. Similarly, the warm yet dark tones surrounding her father conveying both Bella’s grief of his death and comfort of her home.

Overall, the production team uses a variety of elements to spectacularly tell a visual story of Bella’s journey of self-discovery and growth. The combination of costume, set design and colour transforms the external world of “Poor Things” into a reflection of Bella’s inner mind. Ultimately, the intricate designs of the production not only captures Bella’s transformation but also her consistent resistance to societal norms, underscoring themes of liberation, freedom and identity.