I will say I have not seen the movie, so I cant speak for that.
But I was honestly impressed by the characterization of Bella in Poor Things. I see a lot of discussion about whether she counts as a “born sexy yesterday” trope and I personally feel that she is a well done *deconstruction and criticism* of the trope. Yes, she starts childlike, and yes, the male characters sexualize her.
But all of that is done through a biased and unreliable narrator lens, that (to me) was pretty obviously critical of the narrator. By the time Bella becomes a mental adult, she is competent, complex, and treated by **the story** (different than the narrator) as a fully realized being.
Without too many spoilers, it is deeply relevant that you do not get to see Bella’s POV (merely some letters) until the very end. Her internal perspective is held back intentionally to recontextualize earlier points of the story as told by the men in her life.
It’s not a “girl power” book and it is using a scifi premise that has a complex and often sexist history, and none of the characters fit neatly into “unproblematic” boxes but I personally feel it uses that premise well, in an interesting way, that does craft an overall feminist telling. Besides, I honestly do prefer when characters dont fit into “problematic”/”Unproblematic” boxes anyway. The messiness of life makes for great stories.
by Otherwise-Public-959