Poor Things: The Biggest Differences Between the Book and Emma Stone Movie

See the biggest differences between Alastair Gray’s 1992 novel and the Oscar-nominated film starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo

One of the most sought after films of this year’s Oscar season is Yorgos Lanthimos Poor people.The 2023 film, starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef, is a witty, bizarre look at Frankenstein.

Poor people follows Bella Baxter (Stone), a woman who is created when Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a scientist and mortician, places the brain of a deceased woman’s baby in her body after she dies by suicide. Youssef plays Max McCandles, Godwin’s assistant who is tasked with observing Bella’s behavior and falls in love with her in the process.

Ruffalo is Duncan Wedderburn, a lawyer who takes Bella on a European adventure and also falls deeply in love with her.

“It started with about three weeks of rehearsals, which were just playing theater games, really, and banter and cutting. [That] it gave us a sense of safety with each other and a sense of fun,” Ruffalo told PEOPLE of the filming.Poor people it was nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Stone is nominated for Best Actress and Ruffalo for Best Supporting Actor. Lanthimos is also in the running for Best Director. Lanthimos did take some liberties with the film, which was adapted from Alastair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name. Read about the biggest differences between the book and the movie.Warning: Major spoilers for the novel and the film Poor people

The film is not only told from Max’s point of view (and his original name was not Max)

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in a scene from the movie ‘Les Miserables’.

Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

The original novel, although a work of fiction, is structured as if it were written by Scottish medical student Archibald McCandless, who was renamed Max McCandless for the film. Archibald recounts his friendship with scientist Godwin Baxter and his creation, Bella. Medical illustrations and Bella’s letters are also included in the book.

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The film, however, broadens that perspective and follows more characters, with a greater focus on Bella and her worldview. Her letters, which were sent to Godwin and Max at Godwin’s estate in London, also appear in the film.

Several characters from the book were cut (and some were added)

Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe (center) and Ramy Youssef in a scene from the movie ‘Les Miserables’.

Yorgos Lanthimos/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

The novel includes a number of curious characters who don’t make it into the film, including Dr. Hooker, an American professor with colonialist values, and Blaydon Hattersley, the father of Victoria Blessington, the woman to whom Bella’s body originally belongs. The film also sees the addition of several characters, including Felicity (Margaret Qualley), the woman Godwin creates while Bella travels with Duncan.

Bella returns home from London for different reasons

Emma Stone in ‘Les Miserables’.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Both the book and the film feature scenes in Paris, which Bella and Duncan visit together. While in town, Bella finds a job as a sex worker to earn money. In the film, Bella only returns home to England when Godwin becomes seriously ill, leading to her wedding to Max. In the novel, she returns after sending a long letter to Archibald about her trip abroad.

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Bella’s wedding takes place differently

Emma Stone in ‘Les Miserables’.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Bella’s wedding also unfolds differently in the book and the movie. In the novel, Victoria’s father, Blaydon Hattersley, and her first husband, General Sir Aubrey de la Pole Blessington, make an unexpected appearance on their wedding day. Although at first opposed to the ceremony, the men eventually agreed to let Bella stay at Godwin’s estate. The film unfolds more dramatically. Duncan, who suffered a nervous breakdown after traveling with Bella, opposes the wedding. He brings with him Blessington, played by Christopher Abbott, who is renamed Alfie Blessington in the film.

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The ending of the movie is different from the ending of the book

Willem Dafoe in a scene from the movie ‘Les Miserables’.

Yorgos Lanthimos/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Although both the novel and the film end after Bella’s wedding, the film takes a different direction. Bella initially leaves Max at the altar and decides to return to her/Victoria’s old life with Alfie. Bella quickly realizes why Victoria left Alfie in the first place, who controls her intensely. She shoots Alfie and takes him back to Godwin’s estate where she replaces Alfie’s brain with the brain of a goat and lives happily on the estate with Max.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the novel, Bella also ends up with Archibald, but the novel ends with Godwin’s death instead. The book also contains two additional parts: Bella’s letter to future descendants about the errors she finds in Archibald’s version of their story, and an appendix by author Gray.

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Source: HIS Education