Poor Things

Original story adapted from a novel; no established characters race- or gender-swapped.

Bella's liberation arc consistently exposes the men around her as controlling, foolish, or pathetic, framing them as obstacles to her growth.

• Duncan Wedderburn is reduced to a jealous, sniveling wreck as Bella grows independent
• Bella outpaces and discards the men who try to possess her
• Her abusive husband General Blessington is portrayed as a contemptible tyrant

Bella's sexual exploration is fluid and includes a same-sex encounter at the Paris brothel, but it is brief rather than a central storyline.

• Bella has a same-sex encounter with a woman at the brothel
• Sexual liberation framed as freedom without regard to gender

Casting is largely period-plausible for the surreal Victorian-esque setting; diversity is incidental, not a checkbox overriding lore.

The film overtly champions female liberation, sexual autonomy, and equality, and the synopsis itself frames Bella as standing 'for equality and liberation,' with socialism and self-determination sermonized at points.

• Bella embraces socialist ideas after witnessing poverty in Alexandria
• Repeated framing of sexual freedom as self-actualization against repressive society
• The story positions her growth as escaping 'the prejudices of her times'

Men are largely depicted as controlling, possessive, or violent figures Bella must escape, framing patriarchal control as the central antagonist force.

• Duncan's possessiveness collapses into madness
• General Blessington's cruelty and threat of genital mutilation
• God (Godwin) creates and controls Bella as a science experiment

Adapted from Alasdair Gray's novel; deviations are creative/tonal, not identity-driven rewrites of established iconic characters.