Emma Stone Wins Second Oscar for Best Actress in Strange Role as Resurrected Woman with Unborn Child’s Brain
Last year’s Oscar for best actress went to a universe-hopping laundromat owner with hot dogs for fingers, but this year’s winner took things even further into the realm of the bizarre.
Emma Stone took home the award for her performance in the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film “Poor Things,” where she plays Bella Baxter, a woman who is resurrected by a mad scientist with the brain of her unborn child implanted in her skull.
The result is a character with the impulses of an infant, navigating a world where men dictate women’s lives. Stone’s portrayal of Bella Baxter is both charmingly blunt and intent on being free to experiment, leading to a memorable scene where she dances wildly in a restaurant in Portugal, inspiring her lover played by Mark Ruffalo to match her vigor.
Stone, visibly overwhelmed in her acceptance speech, shared a conversation she had with Lanthimos, emphasizing that the film was a team effort that created something greater than the sum of its parts.
This victory marks Stone’s second win for best actress, following her role in the 2016 musical “La La Land.” The past year has seen Stone take on more unconventional roles, including a satire of a home renovation show in the TV series “The Curse.”
Bella Baxter’s unusual character arc provided Stone with a unique actor’s playground, as her character learns to walk, talk, discover her sexuality, and navigate the deepest horrors of humanity in her quest for independence.
“I felt like I kind of lived with her for a long time,” Stone told Vanity Fair. “Yorgos and I still talk about how we miss her now.”
Stone’s performance in “Poor Things” showcases her versatility as an actress and her willingness to take on challenging and unconventional roles, solidifying her status as one of Hollywood’s most talented and daring performers.
