This bizarrely funny film, is about Bella Baxter and how she discovers the world. At the beginning of the film, she is still the experiment of Dr. Godwin Baxter, known as „God“ for short, who implanted a child’s brain into the body of an adult woman. So she staggers through her golden cage, learning every day and discovering her own body with great curiosity. God’s assistant McCandles falls in love with her and her unconventional nature, which is why the two are to be married. But Bella doesn’t see the point. Instead, she runs off with the lawyer Wedderburn and embarks on an educational journey around the world.
The film poses the question of how a woman can develop when she knows neither shame nor any of the social conventions that otherwise regulate the rest of the world. Stone embodies Bella brilliantly, hence the Oscar as Best Actress. The film also impresses with its set and production design, costumes and make-up. The film is a feast for the eyes and the distorted soundtrack is a real treat for the ears. Although the film constantly walks a tightrope towards Lolita fantasy and is ultimately less about Bella’s ideas for a better world and more about the effects of her behaviour on the men around her, it makes for a fun, refreshing and weirdly healing evening at the cinema.