It is rather difficult trying to put into words my feelings on the films of Yorgos Lanthimos.
Granted, I have now only seen four of his films, which started with 2018’s The Favourite. I then went back to discover The Lobster (2015), which is possibly my personal favorite to date. Then came 2023’s Poor Things, which, despite having a wonderful performance by Emma Stone, was way too much for me (a reincarnated woman with a childlike mind discovering sex is just…no).
Naturally, that made me a little hesitant for his newest film, Bugonia. Yet this is such an oddly refreshing film, despite its undoubtable dour view on the world we live in. Emma Stone stars again, this time as Michelle Fuller, a rather cutthroat of a CEO of a pharmaceutical company.
She is soon kidnapped by a man named Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis). They (mainly Teddy) are convinced Michelle is an alien who is sent to destroy earth.
A lot of thoughts are found in the film (which was not written by Lanthimos, but Will Tracy, his second after 2022’s The Menu). Most notable is that of bees (Teddy owns an apiary), and you realize how that comes into play once you see Teddy works as a lineman of sorts, packing boxes for Michelle’s company.
By now, you would expect that Emma Stone (who already has two Lead Actress Oscars) would be giving another Oscar worthy performance, and you would be right. She serves up a character that seems to mean well yet has icy venom lurking underneath. Yet for me, it is Jesse Plemons who wins it. He has come a long way since he was a bully figure in 2003’s Like Mike. Since then, he has really broken out into a vast amount of quality films and performances (He was nominated for 2021’s The Power of the Dog). Here, he gives possibly the best performance I have seen from him so far. Within twenty minutes of the film, I wrote down he is acting like an 8 year old in a grown mans body with the brain of an old wise man, and it makes more sense when you realize the atrocities that have occurred to his character. He is simply sublime here.
Parents, the film does not have any of the over sexualized scenes as in the other Lanthimos films (despite one image at the end where a nude man is lying on a nude woman in bed), the film more than makes up for it with swearing and a near overload of violence.
Without getting into spoilers, the film has divided many with the ending. I was more than fine with it: I applauded it (although it did drag a bit).
As one of the year’s best, Bugonia demands the viewers to have what the characters demand in the film: a dialogue.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 