Movie reviews: ‘Poor Things,’ ‘Wonka’ and ‘The Immediate Family’

POOR THINGS: 4 ½ STARS

“Poor Things,” a new Gothic drama starring Emma Stone, is one unique woman’s journey through science, sex and self-discovery.

Based on Scottish writer Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, and set in 19th century London, the story focusses on Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), who, when we first meet her, is a fully grown woman with the mind of a child. Her “mental age and body are not synchronized,” says her guardian, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) a.k.a. “God,” a disfigured man of science with an unconventional mind.

They live in a lavish home, which also houses Godwin’s menagerie of strange animals, like a half chicken, half dog, creations right out of the Island of Dr. Moreau, and an ever-patient housekeeper who cleans up after Bella’s frequent temper tantrums.

When Bella isn’t acting out, she soaks up knowledge like a sponge, wearing her curiosity like a badge. To chart her progress Godwin recruits his protégé Max (Ramy Youssef), a young scientist with an open mind and an open heart.

As Max develops feelings for the young woman, Bella becomes curious about the world outside the walls of Godwin’s home. She gets the chance to explore with lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a flamboyant character who accompanies the now free-spirited Bella off on a romantic, picaresque excursion to Lisbon, Portugal. For the rapidly developing young woman, everything is new and she dives into every experience, including sex with gusto.

“Why do people just not do this all the time?” she says to Wedderburn post coitus.

Her journey to self-discovery, free from the prejudices of polite society, sees her plot her own way to liberty by working as a Parisian prostitute, studying medicine, expanding her mind with the writings of Emerson and travelling the world.

“I am finding being alive fascinating,” she says matter-of-factly.

An off-kilter “Frankenstein” story, “Poor Things” is the darkly funny tale of a human experiment who is not beholden to her creator. Unlike Frankenstein’s monster, she has a lust for life, an eagerness to drink from the chalice and savor every drop. From figuring out how to walk, spitting out food she doesn’t like—“Why keep it on my mouth if I find it revolting?”—to running off to an uncertain future, she finds freedom in the moment, and the zest with which Stone brings Bella to life is irresistible.

“Ideas are banging in Bella’s head like lights in a storm!” she says.

It is a raw, strange performance, fearless in its execution. Rich in comedy—it takes a well-defined character to say, “I must go punch that baby,” and get away with it—and deep in pathos, Bella is the kind of character that we’re likely only to see in a film by Yorgos Lanthimos, director of oddball delights like “‎The Favourite,” “The Lobster,” “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “‎Dogtooth,” but it is Stone who makes the character simultaneously hilarious, sympathetic and disturbing.

Stone is supported by Dafoe as a mad scientist who wouldn’t be out of place working alongside James Whale or Tod Browning. It’s a bravura performance, under an inch of monstrous make-up scars, that reveals the human side of a man mostly interested in data, but who makes a space in his heart for Bella.

Ruffalo lets it rip, gleefully embodying the worst of humanity. The old money lawyer is braggadocious, uptight and a bit of a dim wit. The Avengers actor milks Wedderburn for all he’s worth, emphasizing his ridiculous suaveness to create a comedic character that is part Errol Flynn, part Derek Zoolander.

The success of “Poor Things” is due to that trio of performances laid against Lanthimos’ ornate set design and odd-ball sensibility. It is a coming-of-age, a long strange journey unlike any other, but one with a strong message of female agency.

“A woman plotting her course to freedom,” says brothel owner Swiney (Kathryn Hunter). “How delightful.”

How delightful, indeed.

WONKA: 4 STARS

Everyone from Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader to The Ghostbusters and the Godfather have been given the origin story treatment, so why not Wille Wonka, the mysterious and mischievous chocolatier created by Roald Dahl? That’s the premise of “Wonka,” a new musical now playing in theatres.

‎Timothée Chalamet plays the title character, the young version of the Wonka seen in 1971s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and 2005s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” but his sartorial style is already in place. Decked out in a top hat, purple waistcoat and flamboyant scarves, Wonka arrives in town with the dream of opening the greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen.

“I’ve spent the past seven years travelling the world,” he announces, “perfecting my craft. You see I’m something of a magician, inventor, and chocolate maker. So quiet up, and listen down. Nope. Scratch that, reverse it.”

His original idea was to make chocolates his mother (Sally Hawkins) would love, and after years of study he learned to concoct delicious, unusual candies. His caramels are salted with the tears of a Russian clown. His cherries come from the Imperial Gardens in Japan and his marshmallows are harvested from the mallow marshes of Peru, and some of them, like the Hoverchoc, have magical, gravity defying side effects.

Trouble is, the city is under the thumb of the Chocolate Cartel, sweet treat tycoons Mr. Prodnose (Matt Lucas), Mr. Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) and Mr. Slugworth (Paterson Joseph). They don’t like Wonka or the threats his chocolates pose to their businesses. “He’s good,” snarls Fickelgruber. “Too good.” But they really hate his idea of making affordable chocolate for the working class.

“Send Wonka a message,” says the sinister Slugworth.

Nothing is going Wonka’s way. The local chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) threatens to bonk him on the head, the Cartel is out to ruin him, he’s indebted to work house owners Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman) and Bleacher (Tom Davis) and a small orange Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) accuses him of stealing cocoa beans.

Despite the odds, with the help of an orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane), the optimistic Wonka is certain he can make his dreams come true and make his mother proud.

Directed by “Paddington’s” Paul King, “Wonka” replaces the weirdness of past film adaptations with whimsey. From the fanciful set and costume design to the heightened performances and relentlessly upbeat tone, it is as sweet as any of Wonka’s magical confections. A celebration of the power of dreams, it’s satisfying and delicious, and tonally feels like a companion piece to the others rather than a revisit or a nostalgic look back.

Chalamet’s Wonka has little to do with the reclusive, narcissistic, judgmental character as played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. He is still an eccentric outsider, but in this version he’s also the emotional core. King and co-writer Simon Farnaby flesh out his story, adding in a backstory that includes a strong connection to his mother and huge dollops of earnestness. That light and airy feel is balanced, somewhat, by the addition of nasty capitalists who want to crush Wonka’s dreams for their own benefit. But make no mistake, this is all chocolate and charm.

Chalamet plays Wonka as a charismatic oddball but without the cynicism that colours other portrayals of the character. The “Dune” star replaces cynicism with a delightfully clever naiveté, anchoring the film’s light and breezy tone. His Wonka pays tribute to, but isn’t an impression of Wilder or Depp. It fresh and fun work, with credible singing and dancing, even if the songs aren’t exactly earworms.

In their handful of scenes, Chalamet cedes the screen to Grant. In what is easily his silliest role ever, Grant finds the fun, playing a testy Oompa Loompa on a mission.

“Wonka” is a scrumdiddlyumptious family film for the holidays. A lavish movie, powered by pure imagination, it is life affirming, with a sense of wonder. It doesn’t enthrall in the same, off-the-charts measure that King’s “Paddington” movies do, but really, what other film does?

THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY: 3 STARS

“The Immediate Family,” a new rock doc now playing in theatres, and available Dec. 17 to rent or buy on the Apple TV app and other VOD platforms, is a feature-length look at musicians you’ve listened to your whole life.

“I would buy records just because they were on it,” says Phil Collins.

They were to the 1970s singer-songwriter era what The Funk Brothers were to Motown or The Wrecking Crew to Los Angeles based pop music. They were the four names that graced the back covers of albums by singer-songwriter Hall-of-Famers like James Taylor, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

“The creative input of these session guys cannot be overstated,” says Taylor.

Legendary session musicians, drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Leland Sklar, and guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, are the Immediate Family, a group who’ve played together on-and-off for more than fifty years, and treat one another as brothers, hence the band’s name.

The story brings together each of their stories, from Kortchmar’s first exposure to James Taylor, when both their families were vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, to Sklar admitting he hides his insecurities behind his trademark ZZ Top-worthy beard to Kunkel’s story about being kicked out of the fifth grade orchestra.

Each has a tale to tell, and, of course, there are accounts of excess on the road and studio stories galore, but director Denny Tedesco isn’t interested in a tell-all or gossip. The most rock ‘n roll moment comes when Linda Ronstadt says she always won their tour bus poker games because she “was the sober one.”

“Hammer of the Gods” this is not. Instead, this is a warm-hearted story of friendship and music.

There is an undeniable chemistry in their group interviews, as they share a lifetime of experience punctuated with lots of laughs. It doesn’t dive deep. This is a hangout movie with great music. To that end, Tedesco makes sure to include lots of archival musical footage, bolstered by newly shot performances.

Tedesco, the director best known for the doc “The Wrecking Crew,” is clearly a fan and while “The Immediate Family” is a companion piece to movies like “Echo in the Canyon” and “20 Feet from Stardom,” it doesn’t have the same in-depth flavor. Still, as a snapshot of an iconic era, it’s a bit of fluffy fun.