By Adam Bloodworth
Emma Stone has received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for her lead role in new Frankenstein-inspired film Poor Things.
In Poor Things, Stone, most famous from films like the new Cruella movie and The Favourite, acts in a series of graphic sex scenes including one where she pleasures herself with fruit.
Following the film’s premiere most critics have been widely praising of Stone’s provocative role in the film.
The Hollywood Reporter hinted that Stone could get a second Oscar for the piece (her first was for La La Land), saying: “Even Academy members who aren’t crazy about the film will find it hard to not admire the fearless, inventive, no-holds-barred performance of lead actress Stone.”
Vulture called Stone one of “cinema’s horniest legends” while The Guardian called Stone’s performance “amazing and hilarious.”
Stone wasn’t available to attend the Venice Film Festival due to the ongoing writers’ strikes in Hollywood which forbid actors from promoting new work. The film’s director Yargos Lanthimos called the strike situation a “shame” because it forbade Stone from speaking about her role, adding: “We had to be confident Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes and she understood that right away.”
Poor Things is billed as a science fantasy black comedy film centering around Stone’s character Bella Baxter, a deceased woman who is revived by a mad scientist who replaces her former brain with an infant’s.
Poor Things will be released in the UK on 12 January 2024
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