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Ellen Hutter and Bella Baxter, the two women of desire.

Protagonists in a confrontation between Nosferatu and Poor Creatures!

Ellen Hutter and Bella Baxter, the two women of desire. Protagonists in a confrontation between Nosferatu and Poor Creatures!

About 365 days ago, Poor Things!, the eighth film by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, was released in Italy. Our Instagram feeds and TikTok videos were flooded with content featuring the protagonist Bella Baxter, played by Emma Stone, saying: "I am Bella Baxter and there is a world to enjoy, circumnavigate." In stark contrast to Victorian society, she wore her long black hair (113 cm to be exact) loose, dressed in lightweight and informal clothing, vibrant slips and blouses, and high-heeled boots.

Rebirth, Obsession, and Desire in Poor Things! and Nosferatu

A film released on January 1 in Italy unfolds in the same historical period: Nosferatu, a horror remake of the 1922 silent film and the fifth feature by American director Robert Eggers. While Poor Things! was praised for the (re)birth of its protagonist—Bella Baxter discovers herself and the world through sex and reading—and her rejection of Victorian social norms, Nosferatu tells the story of a young woman, Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp), whose pursuit of desire culminates in dark obsession. Both films portray protagonists with different approaches to self-realization, desire, love, and their understanding of the world. Bella Baxter's birth takes place at home, where Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) implants the brain of the son she carried in her womb. "Bella wants to see the world," the protagonist states, and so she does. After marrying, she travels—to Lisbon, Alexandria, and Paris—while Ellen is confined, both physically and metaphorically, to the domestic space: the Harding household, corsets, and fits of convulsions and somnambulism.

Socialism or Solitude?

While Bella Baxter discovers socialism, Parisian brothels, and philosophy, Ellen Hutter spends her days in the fictional town of Wisborg, Germany, yearning for someone—or something, anything—to quench her desire, the profound solitude that consumes her. This desire takes shape in the form of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), who, obsessed with Ellen, is willing to unleash a plague, destroy entire villages, and risk his life just to capture her attention. Although their physical union occurs in the film’s final minutes, Ellen’s dream revealed to her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) is significant. She recounts dreaming of marrying Death, with only corpses present at the union.

Ellen Hutter vs. Bella Baxter

Another stark contrast lies in their approach to sexuality: in Poor Things!, Bella Baxter’s exploration of sexuality feels like a sterile male fantasy, especially in a film where her inner world—considering she is mentally little more than a child—is closely tied to what is exhibited and shown to the viewer. Conversely, in Nosferatu, Ellen’s sexuality is as restricted and confined as the spaces she inhabits. Count Orlok becomes a manifestation of her repressed sexual desires, a companion who fills her loneliness and satisfies her more than her husband ever could. Lily Rose-Depp has described, in interviews, the relationship between her character and the Count as one of "mutual desire," with the dynamic between her, him, and her husband forming a love triangle. By the end of the film, Ellen chooses to sacrifice herself, saving many lives: an ostensibly altruistic act that allows her to surrender to her longed-for desire.