Director Yorgos Lanthimos is good at telling strange, captivating stories through creative world
building and imagery (Poor Things, The Lobster), and Bugonia is no exception. Bugonia’s world is full of natural sound, simmering discomfort and damaged people. Teddy (played by Jesse Plemons) is resolute in his convictions, willing to do anything to achieve his goals of saving humanity. Don (played by Aidan Delbis) is his gentle, easily manipulated sidekick who questions Teddy along the way, but stands by his friend. The two abduct self-important CEO Michelle Fuller (played by Emma Stone), who Teddy believes is an alien responsible for his personal tragedy and the destruction of the world. Teddy and Don’s
relationship is tight but increasingly strained. Stone and Plemons give great performances. I did
find the Teddy and Don pair a bit too reminiscent of Lennie and George in John Steinbeck’s Of
Mice and Men, but overall, they are dynamic, well acted characters.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos
Bugonia is a darkly humorous, unsettling ride with great imagery and a lot to say. The film
zooms in on mundane moments to the point of discomfort. It succeeds in delivering mounting
tension by peeling back layers of what’s wrong inside- the characters and their world. Strong
dialog emphasizes the folly of jumping down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories to find
meaning, and the irony of truth.
This thriller-comedy seems like it has a slight identity crisis at times, maybe the result of
managing so much chaos akin to the kind found in the comments section of an internet
argument. Prepare for some light gore, but I found the general discomfort was less from gore,
and more from the examination of human behavior, and the desperation at the start of such a
journey that still lingers at the end.
In theaters October 31st, I rate this movie (4/4) 🍿
