Emma Stone: Sex scenes in Poor Things are ‘honest’

Actress Emma Stone has defended graphic sex scenes in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Oscar-tipped film Poor Things, saying they are true to her character’s experience.

Stone plays Bella, a woman brought back to life using the brain of her unborn child by an unconventional scientist.

Viewers follow her journey as she experiences the world anew and enjoys a sexual awakening.

“Bella is completely free and without shame about her body,” Stone told Radio 4’s Front Row.

The film, widely expected to be nominated for this year’s Oscars and Baftas, has attracted attention for its nudity and sex scenes.

“So much of this was about being true to Bella’s experience. It [the sex] is obviously a huge part of her experience and her growth, as it is, I think, for most people in life,” Stone explained.

“But I see it as just one aspect of many – her discovery of food, philosophy, travel and dance. Sex is another aspect. 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 like, OK, well, we’ll just cut all of this out because our society functions in a particular way… it felt like a lack of being honest about who Bella is.

“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.”

Lanthimos, who also directed Stone in his Oscar-winning film The Favourite, said the premise of the film “allows for a human being, in particular a woman, to get to know the world on her own terms and get a new start from scratch and have no social structures”.

The film, based on Alasdair Gray’s book of the same name, also stars Mark Ruffalo opposite Stone, and has been garnering awards since it won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Stone won best musical or comedy actress at the Golden Globes earlier this month, where Poor Things was also named best musical or comedy film.