Emma Stone’s apple scene in Poor Things is one of many explicit and bold moments in the film but establishes Bella as a bold, defiant protagonist.

Emma Stone’s notorious apple scene in Poor Things is one of the most memorable, and shocking, moments in the 2023 film. Poor Things, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster, The Favourite), is being celebrated as one of the best films of the year, earning a total of 11 nominations at the upcoming 2024 Academy Awards. Poor Things is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Actress for Emma Stone’s arguably career-best performance.

Those who have seen Poor Things are well aware of its themes of sexual liberation and experimentation in the context of Emma Stone’s character’s assimilation into the world around her. Stone plays Bella Baxter, a creation of the unhinged Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who has the brain of an adolescent in an adult woman’s body. Other than offering an incredibly unique visual landscape and a hilarious screenplay, Poor Things is an accessible and thoughtful portrayal of the various forms of oppression experienced by Bella as she navigates a vulturous, cruel world.

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Among the uncomfortably direct and numerous sexually explicit scenes found in Poor Things, the most memorable one is the scene with the apple. As a developing young woman, Bella begins to experiment with herself and her body which marks the beginning of her transition from childhood to womanhood. While at the dinner table in Dr. Godwin’s house, in which Bella is engaged, Bella uses an apple, and then another piece of produce, to “work” herself to the horror of the housemaid.

The apple scene in Poor Things represents much more than the apparent shock value and humor it offers initially. Bella learns quickly in the apple scene of the societal restrictions and expectations around sex in general, which is widely seen as a private matter that has no place in “polite society”. It implies that Bella, in her natural, unconditioned state, must conform to the standards of polite society despite her personal will. It also presents the theme of sexual repression and shame seen throughout the film.

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The apple scene in Poor Things is shocking because it is deemed improper and childish, which is exactly the point. The deeper meaning of the scene is in Bella’s confusion surrounding the horror of the act that brings her pleasure on a fundamental level, which plays into her eventual stint as a sex worker. While the scene is certainly unhinged, it gives insight into Bella’s longing for self-discovery and boldly establishes her as a strong-willed and defiant protagonist with an innocent air of experimental curiosity.