Sometimes when you go into a film you just see something that captivates you. It is unlike what you’ve seen before, unexpected, and immerses you in another world. That’s how I felt watching Poor Things, a new film from Yorgos Lanthimos that expands to additional theaters today.

The script comes from Tony McNamara, based on the novel from Alasdair Gray. It’s a script that crackles in surprising ways, introducing us to a character in Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) that’s unlike anything I’ve seen in film this year.

The story focuses on Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a talented surgeon who is used to experimenting as he’s been experimented on all his life. Bella is the latest of those experiments, a woman who suffered a traumatic injury and was brought back by Godwin. But she’s still learning how to be a woman in the world again.

Godwin enlists Dr. Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to help track Bella’s progress. Along the way, they develop a connection. Max, at first put off by Godwin’s methods, is drawn to Bella and wants to remain in her orbit, even as Bella is becoming more of a free spirit.

When a shifty lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) enters the picture, he whisks Bella off on a globe-trotting adventure. It’s a trip that awakens her passion as she continues to learn about herself, the world and her place in it before returning home.

If you’re not familiar, Lanthimos’ films are creative and unique. From The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell, to The Favourite, which also featured Stone, we get unique characters and approaches to storytelling. Still, nothing quite prepared me for the journey we get here.

Everything is carefully crafted to set a mood. The use of color and even the shift to black-and-white, which occurs for a chunk of the early part of Bella’s story, it all adds to the mood. So, too, do the way the film is shot. We get different perspectives, unique focusing and framing that pull you in and capture you visually.

Additionally, the score from Jerskin Fendrix is haunting. It perfectly fits the quirks of the stories and characters, carrying you into sequences and making the visuals pop in a different way. This is one of the most carefully and uniquely crafted films I’ve seen.

That is married to some fantastic performances. Dafoe is great in his role, and I had fun with Ruffalo, Youssef and others. Jerrod Carmichael has a small supporting role that ended up being one of the most fascinating in the film to me. But none of it works without Stone.

She’s an incredible and talented actress. Currently, we’re seeing a daring performance weekly on the small screen in The Curse. But it’s her work here, which is free and brilliantly drawn that makes the movie hum. She’s sure to be among this year’s nominees for Best Actress and her work here is worth the price of admission.

Poor Things is far from a conventional film. In addition, elements of the story and the way it’s told won’t appeal to all audiences. This is a certain style of storytelling and humor that either hits for you or it doesn’t. The script worked for me, and the visuals were captivating. I found it to be one of the most compelling films of the year.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.