Emma Stone has responded to criticism of the graphic sex scenes in her latest hit film Poor Things.
The film – which is already sweeping up this awards season and has earned Stone a Best Actress gong at the Golden Globes, where the film also won Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture – sees Stone's character Bella Baxter brought back from the dead by a scientist who uses the brain of a baby. Based on the 1992 Alasdair Gray novel of the same name and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the film follows Bella's ‘fantastical evolution’ as she embarks on a journey of discovery.
The film is raucous and unflinchingly candid, but has drawn criticism for its graphic sex and masturbation scenes, which show Bella learning to understand her body and its power.
Stone defended the scenes in an interview with BBC Radio 4, in which host Samira Ahmed described them as ‘quite graphic’, adding: “I think it’s fair to say [these sort of scenes are] unusual these days in Hollywood.”
“So much of this was about being true to Bella's experience,” Stone responded. "It [sex] is obviously a huge part of her experience and her growth, as it is, I think, for most people in life.
“But I see it as just one aspect of many; her discovery of food, philosophy, travel and dance. Sex is another aspect.”
She continued: “One of the things that we had talked about from very early on and I thought was extremely important was that Bella is completely free and without shame about her body. She doesn’t know to be embarrassed by these things or to cover things up or not dive into the full experience when it comes to anything.
“So for the camera to sort of shy away from that, or to say, ‘OK, well, we’ll just cut all of this out because our society functions in a particular way’… felt like a lack of being honest about who Bella is,” she said, adding: “I’m not a person that just wants to be naked all the time, but I am someone who wants to honour the character as fully as I possibly can. That’s part of her journey, so who am I to say that should be shameful?”
Stone has also described feeling ‘very comfortable ’ during the scenes thanks to Poor Things' ‘amazing’ intimacy coordinator.
It comes after a controversial scene was re-edited the film's UK release at the beginning of January. The scene shows – spoiler alert – Bella in Paris, after she moves to the city to work as prostitute, and sees two young boys watching her work after their father hired her to teach them how to have sex. The film is rated 18 following the scene's edit to meet criteria.
A statement by the British Board of Film Classification read: ‘We informed the distributor we would be likely to classify the film 18 on condition that changes be made to one short sequence depicting sexual activity in the presence of children. This is in accordance with the Protection of Children Act 1978. When the distributor submitted the film for formal classification, the scene had been re-edited, and we were able to classify the film 18.’
Poor Things starring Emma Stone is in cinemas now.
