Emma Stone receives standing ovation at Venice Film Festival

Emma Stone receives eight-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival for graphic sex scenes in Poor Things (including VERY raunchy moment with a piece of fruit) but misses the event amid strike chaos

Emma Stone’s new movie Poor Things received critical acclaim and eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Friday.

The Frankenstein inspired tale, which has been awarded 100% on review site rotten tomatoes, reunites the actress with Yorgos Lanthimos who directed her in 2018 hit The Favourite. 

Emma was lauded for both her acting and bravery in the flick which features a string of graphic sex scenes including one that sees The Oscar winner’s character Bella Baxter pleasuring herself with a piece of fruit. 

However neither actress or co-stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo were present to  bask in the glory on Friday after skipping the festival amid the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The Independent wrote in their four-star-review: ‘Stone gives surely the boldest performance of her career so far, in a role that puts upon her heavy physical and psychological demands.’ 

Five star: Emma Stone’s new movie Poor Things received critical acclaim and eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Friday (pictured in 2022) 

Quirky: The Frankenstein inspired tale, which has been awarded 100% on review site rotten tomatoes, reunites the actress with Yorgos Lanthimos who directed her in 2018 hit The Favourite (pictured with co-star Mark Ruffalo)

While Variety’s Clayton Davis hailed the movie as ‘delicious coming-of-age story like no other’ and branded Emma’s performance ‘astonishing’ and even suggested a possible Oscar nomination. 

He also revealed that a number of shocked film goers ‘bolted for the exit during some of the racier scenes’. 

The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg agreed with the idea that the movie could land Emma her second Oscar – after she scooped the Best Actress for La La Land in 2016.

Writing: ‘Even Academy members who aren’t crazy about the film will find it hard to not admire the fearless, inventive, no-holds-barred performance of lead actress Stone’. 

Meanwhile The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said in his own five-star review that the director’s leading lady ‘takes it to the next career level, or the level beyond the next level’.  

Going on to praise her ‘amazing and hilarious’ performance.

EW also praise the actress and said it was ‘unquestionably the performance of Stone’s career’.

‘[She] is a gifted comedic actress and she is an ideal match for Lanthimos’ tone, a strange mix of black comedy, farce, and social commentary’. 

R rated: Emma was lauded for both her acting and bravery in the flick which features a string of graphic sex scenes including one that sees The Oscar winner’s character Bella Baxter pleasuring herself with a piece of fruit

MIA: However neither actress or co-stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo were present to bask in the glory on Friday after skipping the festival amid the S AG-AFTRA strikes

No shows: Nadeem Gill (pictured) was one of the only few stars to grace the red carpet at the movie’s premiere in Venice 

Glam: Barbara Palvin also made a fleeting appearance at friday’s screening 

Poor Things: What are the critics saying?  

Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent 

‘Stone gives surely the boldest performance of her career so far, in a role that puts upon her heavy physical and psychological demands.’ 

Clayton Davis, Variety 

Halfway through Lanthimos’ wickedly twisted world, it was abundantly clear this was an across-the-board awards contende”r. 

‘A best actress winner for La La Land, Stone delivers the type of performance that could bring a second statuette’.

Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter 

‘Even Academy members who aren’t crazy about the film will find it hard to not admire the fearless, inventive, no-holds-barred performance of lead actress Stone’. 

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian  

[Director Yorgos Lanthimos’] leading lady is someone who takes it to the next career level, or the level beyond the next level: Emma Stone’. 

‘She gives an amazing and hilarious performance’. 

Maureen Lee Lenker, EW 

‘Poor Things is unquestionably the performance of Stone’s career,’ 

‘[Emma] is a gifted comedic actress and she is an ideal match for Lanthimos’ tone, a strange mix of black comedy, farce, and social commentary’. 

Rachel Handler, Vulture 

‘[Emma’s character] reveals herself to be one of cinema’s horniest legends, f***ing her way across the European seaboard’. 

‘Stone’s performance matches that fearlessness; she goes for broke here,’

And Vulture’s Rachel Handler wrote:  ‘Stone’s performance matches [Balla Baxter’s] fearlessness; she goes for broke here’. 

Greek director Yargos spoke at the festival and friday and said how Emma had ‘no shame’ when it came to the raunchy scenes. 

 ‘It’s a shame that Emma could not be here to speak more about it, because it will all be coming from me. First of all, sex is an intrinsic part of the novel itself, her freedom about everything including sexuality,’ Yorgos.

The 49-year-old filmmaker continued, ‘Secondly, it was very important for me to not make a film that would be prudish, because that would be like completely betraying the main character.’ 

‘We had to be confident Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, engaging in those scenes and she understood that right away.’

Lanthimos has worked with Emma on projects such as The Favourite, which meant they did not have to spend too long having to discuss the sex scenes.

‘The great thing about me and Emma is that we have made four films together; there is a shorthand and we can communicate without having to explain or talk too much about things,’ he said.

‘As soon as I started saying something about sex, she would say, “Yes,” of course, it’s Bella. We will do what we need to do.’ 

Fingers crossed: Emma’s perfomance has been universally praised and has even tipped for an Oscar nomination 

Opening up: The Greek director revealed his leading lady had ‘no shame’ with her body while filming raunchy scenes in the sci-fi dark comedy 

The director hired Elle McAlpine as an intimacy coordinator on the film and praised her positive influence on the picture. 

Lanthimos said, ‘At the beginning, this profession felt a little threatening to most filmmakers, but I think its like everything: if you’re with a good person, it’s great and you realize you actually need them. She made everything much easier for everyone.’

Yorgos further discussed the Frankenstein-inspired project and tried to ‘describe’ the film during the press conference in Venice, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘It’s very hard to describe. There have been many films throughout time that were unique and exceptional, but I guess maybe in our time, there aren’t many films like it, so it’s hard for me to say what it is,’ he explained

The premise follows, ‘The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe),’ per an IMDB synopsis. 

According to Variety, the filmmaker received applause when he entered the theater and took his seat. After the conclusion of the movie.

Poor Things – which has been selected to compete for the prestigious Golden Lion – is slated to release in theaters later this year on December 8. 

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