Bugonia, 2025.
Written and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, Stavros Halkias, J. Carmen Galindez Barrera, Marc T. Lewis, Vanessa Eng, Cedric Dumornay, Charita Momma, Cherri Jones, Fredricka Whitfield, Rafael Lopez Bravo, Yaisa, Teneise Mitchell Ellis, and Roger Carvalho.
SYNOPSIS:
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.
A film about kidnapping a CEO feels downright cathartic for these unfortunate times we live in. In the gonzo hands of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia (supposedly a remake of South Korea’s Save the Green Planet, although to what extent I’m not qualified to comment on) is an acerbic comedy/thriller not content with meeting one moment, but several throughout its absurd concept.
The kidnapping duo here aren’t ordinary citizens or wholly righteous. Instead, one is a conspiracy theorist quack. The other is his extremely autistic longtime best friend (and before one starts clutching their pearls that his dopey and dimwitted interjections are played for confused hysterical humor, he’s the more intelligent one of the two and hasn’t completely abandoned reality), who is loyal to a fault and easy to manipulate into eyebrow-raising schemes and a brainwashed way of living (which includes cutting themselves off from anything fun in the world, as they are hypnotic distractions from what needs to be done to save the planet from dying).
That’s one way of saying Teddy (Jesse Plemons, committed to playing a wacko, tapping into some real life lunatic energy of people that sadly walk among us) is an idiot; he is the type of guy to willfully castrate himself (and force his friend Don also to do so) because attractive humanoid aliens might use their sexuality and lust to their advantage. Then there is the unhealthy and equally loony amount of research he has put into telling aliens apart from humans, with sketches of what their motherships look like.
Teddy is also convinced that big shot pharmaceuticals CEO Michelle (may Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos never stop working together) is a high-ranking alien with world domination plans, which can lead him and Don (newcomer Aidan Delbis, who has an outstanding knack for comedic timing) to her leader. They hatch the flimsiest plan possible to snatch her while pulling up into her driveway, and shave her head during the getaway process, as Teddy genuinely believes that her species can somehow track her and communicate through hair follicles. That’s the level of conspiracy theory shenanigans we are dealing with here.
Of course, Michelle is no saint. She exhibits a lack of self-awareness when it comes to overworking her employees, stating that they can go home when their shift ends if they feel like it, while also heavily pressuring them to put in overtime. Michelle can recite a speech about diversity for brand imaging, but doesn’t seem to be invested in such progressive causes. In other words, for as scarily insane as Teddy is, Michelle doesn’t exactly come across as sympathetic either. However, she is held hostage by an increasingly unstable man who believes that influential figures like Michelle are responsible for some of his problems, such as his recent beekeeping issues (the film also uses that element as a commentary on society), so there is much concern over her well-being.
Bugonia also isn’t interested in reducing Teddy to nothing but stupidity. Yorgos Lanthimos weaves in brief explorations of his past (and without interrupting the narrative’s momentum) to find an empathetic side of this man, and what caused him to fall into a deranged online rabbit hole and snap away from reality. There is pain and grief inside him, and seemingly unprocessed trauma (a childhood police officer friend worms his way near Teddy not only to do his job investigating the kidnapping, but also to gradually find the words to apologize for something that we can only assume is reprehensible, considering he has to dance around whatever the incident is when talking about it).
With that said, Jesse Plemons’ performance is not only hilariously pathetic and outrageously dumb and gullible (all things he spends his time preaching to his friend that they aren’t, and that they are more enlightened than the rest of society), but it’s also sad. There is a point where Michelle realizes how she can manipulate him right back, which comes with a twisted punchline that is simultaneously depressing, horrifying, heartbreaking, and funny. Moments of insecurity and fragility occasionally give way to strikingly shot bursts of violence (courtesy of cinematographer Robbie Ryan), such as a leap and a crawl across the dinner table when he feels his intelligence has been insulted.
The only thing stopping Yorgos Lanthimos from reaching masterful territory once again here is himself: it’s not the lack of restraint to go where Bugonia goes in its final 10 minutes, but the mixed messaging. Even then, he hits you with a bleak, dark montage that almost makes jumping the shark worth it. Everything else here is wickedly sharp.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
