bugonia

★★★★★

starring: emma stone, jesse plemons, aidan delbis, and alicia silverstone

​

REVIEWER: Lyall carter

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 a couple of things that are constant with a Yorgos Lanthimos film. They are generally pretty whacky (and seem to get whackier with each film) and Emma Stone. Stone has been in four of Lanthimos’ features and one short, winning an Oscar for her portrayal of Bella in Lanthimos’ 2023 Poor Things. Stone’s work here in Bugonia is her most subtle performance in a Lanthimos film yet, but the film. Wow. Just wacky. Mind blowen. Drawing you slowly into the plot with brilliant dialogue heavy scenes, Bugonia startles, bewilders, and will have you pondering its themes and the questions it raises for days.

Bugonia is a dark comedy-thriller about two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap a powerful CEO, believing she is an alien plotting to destroy Earth. The men hold her captive, attempting to force her to negotiate with an alien emperor, while she tries to convince them they are delusional and in need of mental health care. 

​

Bugonia starts with a pretty wild premise - Teddy, played wonderfully in all his broken oddities by Jesse Plemons, believes that aliens have invaded planet earth with one mission: to destroy us all. While it sounds kinda wacky, Lanthimos completely grounds it by sticking with Teddy and his cousin Don and letting us as the audience hear them out. While it's still very strange, in a weird way, their beliefs kind of start making sense. 

​

Now, I won’t give too much away here but the way in which Lanthimos lands it all is masterful leaving us questioning everything we have just seen but also raising, through the power of this allegory the questions of societal control, extremism, consumerism, while humanizing those that we’d consider ‘other.’ This film will stick with you for days. 

​

Drawing you slowly into the plot with brilliant dialogue heavy scenes, Bugonia startles, bewilders, and will have you pondering its themes and the questions it raises for days.