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This is a very strange film (and, I now learn, an adaptation of a 1992 novel, which takes a rather different perspective on some of the key events). There is a surreal steampunk-ish air to the world it is set in, and plenty of echos of Frankenstein, particularly in the idea that one can transplant a brain (and thus a personality) into another body. It's visually and musically striking.
Emma Stone's performance as Bella is the engine around which the film runs, and she is really good. Aside from the cringe moments, there are some laugh-out-loud funny moments; the other thing that stands out is the significant quantity of sex. It feels rather like Bella is discovering about herself and the world by having a lot of sex. And yet we mostly hear men talking about Bella and her behaviour and the sex she's having, and I worry that the liberation Bella finds is in no longer caring that she's being exploited by men. Also, pretty much everyone in the film is more or less terrible.
Emma Stone's performance as Bella is the engine around which the film runs, and she is really good. Aside from the cringe moments, there are some laugh-out-loud funny moments; the other thing that stands out is the significant quantity of sex. It feels rather like Bella is discovering about herself and the world by having a lot of sex. And yet we mostly hear men talking about Bella and her behaviour and the sex she's having, and I worry that the liberation Bella finds is in no longer caring that she's being exploited by men. Also, pretty much everyone in the film is more or less terrible.