Written by: Will Tracy
Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone
Rating: [4/5]
Having steadfast beliefs typically comes with a badge of honor where one can define their worldview and act upon it. Obviously, there are levels to the respectability of acceptable worldviews, meaning those with strange viewpoints should perhaps not remain so adamant for all of our sakes. Bugonia displays this worldview in creating a hostage situation like no other that begins to test the bounds of our sanity.
Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), a CEO for a pharmaceutical company, goes about her typical schedule when one day a conspiracy theorist, Teddy (Jesse Plemons), and his cousin abduct her, cut her hair, and question her. While Michelle believes she can reason her way out of this, she soon discovers the difficulty before her given that Teddy wholeheartedly believes she’s an alien sent to destroy all of Earth.
Given the context of this film, everything leans in one particular direction throughout. Surely Teddy and his cousin have fallen into some psychosis or have driven themselves so far down a rabbit hole in conspiracy theory land to genuinely believe the woman they have chained in the basement is not only inhuman but also an alien from outer space. One could reason that they view her like an alien in the way she and her company ruthlessly harm the community around them through their work. They could believe she genuinely represents a danger to society and in a sense could represent an alien, a belief that others may share. There’s much that could be symbolic in this movie, but no, Bugonia presents a tale where these two genuinely believe they have trapped an alien and will do all they can to ensure she cannot carry out her mission.
Through watching this film, we mostly see it through the perspective of Michelle and sympathize with her given the fact that she could not possibly be whatever these claim for her identity. However, when watching a film crafted by Yorgos Lanthimos, you know there must be something that lies under the surface that will carry importance. This film could exist as an overarching message about conspiracy theorists and how individuals try to find otherworldly explanations for why their lives have not amounted to what they would have liked. Perhaps more lies out there that will eventually be revealed to us that adds a different layer to this story. You’ll just have to watch to see how it all plays out.
Knowing the position Teddy and his cousin have put themselves in, it comes with the reality of some sort of happy ending not possible for all parties. These two simply cannot abduct someone with this level of power and connections and hope anything would get brushed under the rug. Again, that’s with the assumption of reality bearing truth of them being out of their minds in their assertion of Michelle being an alien. It begs the question of where the film goes from there and how far this pair will go if they truly have the conviction that Michelle represents a threat to humanity. Surely they will stop at nothing to neutralize her, but the question remains of what methods they will utilize to accomplish that. This remains tense throughout because of how much hangs in the balance and the danger for Michelle if she does not navigate this situation in the right manner.
With the high stakes ever-present throughout the film, it allows Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons to go head-to-head in roles that allow them to have their fun. Stone, obviously, is no stranger to working with Lanthimos, and she delivers yet again, but this film marks the first time Plemons has collaborated with the Greek filmmaker, and we get something special here. The way Plemons so effortlessly portrays this character truly makes the whole movie. From believing the Kool-Aid of what he holds true to the determination in what he will do to ensure he carries out what he views as his duty, a level of craziness exists in this role, and Plemons steps up to the plate and knocks it out of the park. His quality makes it difficult to fathom anyone else possibly doing what this role calls for.
An intriguing setup and quite the enjoyable film, Bugonia fits right into the filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos. It delves into some fascinating topic areas and brings forth some strange characters acting out in ways that will confuse some and concern others. Through this script, we get the opportunity to witness Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons portray utterly strange characters and unsurprisingly thrive with the material. Everything in this feature plays out in an unexpected manner and continues down this rabbit hole that, by the time we reach the final credits, you can see exactly why Yorgos Lanthimos enjoyed this source material and wanted to take his own stab at telling this story.
Films with Josh 
