Christopher Abbott is in awe of Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” despite having little screen time.
Abbott, who stars with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef and “Sanctuary” contributor Margaret Qualley in the all-female Frankenstein drama, said The Hollywood Reporter that the teaser trailer for the upcoming film left him dumbfounded.
“I loved it,” Abbott said of collaborating with director Lanthimos. “First of all, the production design was incredible. You can see in the teaser how wild it looks, and while it didn’t quite look like that, I was quite amazed at how magical the actual sets were and how detailed they were. When I saw the teaser as well, it was even more vivid and wild than how it felt on set. Then it just doubled up and it looks amazing.
“Poor Things” centers on the incredible story and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she lacks in her, she Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a shrewd and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across continents. Freed from the prejudices of her time, Bella becomes steadfast in her resolve to stand up for equality and liberation.
The film is based on Scottish author Alasdair Gray’s novel about a woman who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband and is resurrected with the brain of her unborn child. The film is written by “The Great” showrunner Tony McNamara, who also wrote Lanthimos’ latest film “The Favorite.”
While Abbott’s role has been kept under wraps, he called it a “coincidence” that ‘Sanctuary’, his other film alongside ‘Poor Things’ co-star Qualley, came out before ‘Poor Things’.
Abbott told IndieWire that he had “really nothing to do together” with Qualley on the Lanthimos set, with no overlapping “Poor Things” scenes.
“We were in Budapest at the same time,” Abbott said, to which Qualley replied, “’Poor things,’ I’m in for two seconds. I haven’t seen it, but I’m excited to see everything Chris does in that film.
Qualley will also appear in Lanthimos’ “AND” with fellow “Poor Things” stars Stone and Dafoe, as well as Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau and Joe Alwyn.
