Before we get into what’s going on in this movie, let’s talk about the art of storytelling. Literally from time immemorial, from mankind’s first grunts and gestures, storytelling has been how we relate to one another. For millennia, we entertained and informed by telling stories. Inevitably, we started acting out what we were talking about, and drama was born. As our brains grew, we invented ways to write our stories down, and then print them in books.

A little over a century ago, we devised a way to preserve and share these thoughts and dramas. We called it The Movies. Today cinema, for better or worse, is the primary heir to this tradition. 

But some filmmakers see the medium as a way to, well, show off, using camera and editing tricks, computer simulations and, as is the case here, considerable shock tactics. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. Shocks, unsettling imagery and haunting characters are not unknown in the industry. But they’re really hard to do well and have only limited real impact unless perhaps you happen to be named Fellini. Or Hitchcock. Forgive me for my quaint belief that it’s all just artsy jerking off if there’s no narrative holding things together.

I was doubly disappointed in this nearly three-hour examination of the human condition by Yorgos Lanthimos. I loved the director’s way-out-there Poor Things because it told a story. This style-over substance triptych is presented in three segments, all starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Jesse Plemons. But as different characters. 

In the first, a man struggles to free himself from what is apparently a predetermined path. In the second, a policeman is surprised when his lost-at-sea wife returns and seems to be a different person. The last segment has a woman seeking a person destined to become a great spiritual leader. 

As I left the screening room I felt as though I’d been beaten up. I did not feel enlightened or edified. Of course, it’s possible that I’m just not sophisticated enough to appreciate this dark-hearted waste of talent. So there’s that. But I’d be hard put to recommend it to anyone. (164 min)