In Poor Things, the latest movie from director Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone's character Bella Baxter sees the world through fresh eyes – literally. A rapidly developing infant's brain in a grown woman's body, conceived by an unconventional scientist (Willem Dafoe), a key part of Bella's journey is self-discovery – exploration of her own body and experimentation with pleasure. In short, that means the movie doesn't shy away from sex.
From the opening scene of his Greek-language psychological drama Dogtooth to Stone's absent-minded pleasuring of Joe Alwyn in The Favourite, Lanthimos' sex scenes are generally more matter-of-fact than sensual, often to humorous effect. So, what are they like to film? Stone only has positive things to say about the sex scenes in Poor Things when we sit down to talk at a central London hotel.
"They were very comfortable. It was a really small room every time, it was very few people, and we had an amazing intimacy coordinator, Elle McAlpine," Stone, who was also a producer on the film, tells 12DOVE. "In some ways, those scenes were kind of easier than the other ones because they were so choreographed and so straightforward."
Sex takes many forms in the movie, from Bella's discovery of masturbation to globe-trotting romps with sleazy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), and a turn to sex work in order to become her "own means of production".
"Even though most people are reacting to those [scenes] a lot because they feel more intense, they actually were completely fine," Stone continues. "I was very prepared that those were going to occur because it felt completely necessary to Bella's journey and growth and they feel very clinical and often very funny – to me, at least."
Poor Things is out now in the US and arrives in UK cinemas on January 12. For more, take a look at what Emma Stone told us about improvising Bella's unique movements and mannerisms.
