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The combination of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos seems to be working. Their newest movie together is Bugonia, and man, is it a blast.
The movie stars Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Aidan Delbis for the most part. There are other players, but the movie focuses on them. Lanthimos directs, with Will Tracy and Jang Joon-hwan writing. Tracy is known for The Menu and Succession.
The Story
From the outset, I was interested in Bugnoia:
Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
There are conspiracy theorists, and there are people who then plan and do something about it.
Teddy (Plemons) and his cousin Don (Delbis) live in a small place, where they raise bees. Teddy’s voice-over says that without bees, the rest of human life will end. They are conspiracy theorists, well, Teddy is, and Don, who’s autistic, is there as he doesn’t know any better.
Michelle (Stone) is the CEO of Auxolith, a pharmaceutical megacorporation. However, Teddy thinks she is an alien, here to order the destruction of Earth. He doesn’t just think it, he’s planning on kidnapping her and forcing her to stop, or at least, take him and Don with her.
They grab her and lock her in their basement. They shave her head, as hair can be used to transmit a homing signal. At first, Michelle just thinks they are a couple of ‘crazies’ out for money. As time goes on, she finds they are committed to the cause.
I can’t spoil the rest of the story for Bugonia, but it’s good, really good.
The Cast
I’m not a huge fan of Emma Stone. For no reason in particular, just not a fan. However, credit where credit is due, she can act. Throughout the entire movie, you aren’t sure who is in the right.
You obviously feel for Michelle, as she’s put in this horrible situation; two nutcases have her trapped in the basement. However, the movie flits back and forth on who you believe is telling the truth. She can’t be an alien, right?
Having her shave her head for Bugonia was a stroke of genius. She spends most of the movie with no hair and covered in an antihistamine cream, again, to block any signals. It makes her look like an alien in human form, though.
This brings us on to Plemons. You know some actors who pick roles and make you believe they are a little crazy? I loved Plemons in that episode of Black Mirror, and he was also great in Civil War. He’s only acting, but he seems unhinged.
In Bugonia, he takes ‘unhinged’ to 11. Teddy seems like an intelligent man, but life has sent him a series of blows that have pushed him over the edge. Over the edge of reality, to the point where he carries out this daring kidnapping.
The Direction
Lanthimos is a little hit and miss for me. I like Dogtooth, it’s weird, but an interesting movie. I have seen The Lobster, but don’t remember much about it and don’t recall liking it. However, The Killing of a Sacred Deer was a brilliant piece of work. I never saw The Favourite. Poor Things was really interesting, but I couldn’t get into Kinds of Kindness.
Lanthimos is a very minimal director, so he can focus on the actors and the story. I found that Bugonia was just that; the characters were brilliant, and I was completely invested in them. As the story goes on, it just gets crazier and crazier.
I can’t spoil the ending, but the expression ‘batshit crazy’ springs to mind. Personally, I loved it, I found myself smiling and giggling at how absurd it got.
Overall
Again, it’s hard to review Bugonia without spoiling it, but honestly, give it a go. I’m bored with the normal movies that come out these days. Superman was very lacklustre for me, because it’s just another superhero movie.
Bugonia is not in the ‘usual Hollywood’ movie set. A director like Lanthimos is one of those directors who doesn’t seem to let the studios interfere with his style, like an indie director but with a massive budget. This is a good thing, though.
You know how Superman will go, Supes will fight the bad guy and save the day. I had no idea where Bugonia was going, and I was happy to enjoy the ride. Honestly, as the movie came to a conclusion, I was kind of annoyed, as it could have been longer, and I wouldn’t have minded.
When was the last time you said that? Usually, anything over 90 minutes and I’m moaning about how long it was; Bugonia wasn’t long enough.
Sod it, I’m giving Bugonia a full 5 stars, remember, that’s 5 stars by today’s standards. However, the more I think about it, the way it sits with me (in a good way), the more I like it. It might actually be one of my favourite movies of the year. If you embrace the crazy, you’ll enjoy this.
You can see Bugonia in some cinemas and on VoD.
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