“Bugonia” is the latest film from Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of “Poor Things,” “The Favourite” and other critically acclaimed and very surreal movies. In “Bugonia,” he drops us headfirst into a fever dream of internet paranoia, corporate greed and end-times delusion.
Two conspiracy theorist cousins, played by Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, kidnap a high-powered CEO because they believe she’s an alien bent on earth’s destruction. Only they can return earth to a more edenic time, by convincing her to persuade all the other aliens to abandon the planet.
That supposed alien CEO is played by Emma Stone, a frequent Lanthimos collaborator who won an Academy Award for Best Actress in his 2024 film, “Poor Things.” She makes a great case for a repeat win here. Stone offers a stunning performance as Michelle, the enigmatic leader of a pesticide and pharmaceutical company who’s got a lot of tricks up her sleeve.
Equally compelling is Plemons as Teddy, lead kidnapper and would-be hero. A beekeeper whose concern for colony collapse disorder links him with Michelle in mysterious ways, Plemons is at turns feckless and brutal, excavating the layers of pathos in Teddy’s life.
An absurdist at heart, Lanthimos gleefully scrambles genres. “Bugonia” is a sci-fi thriller, a police procedural where the small-town sheriff arrives just in time and a dark comedy with deadpan humor that’s laugh-out-loud funny – even when you know you shouldn’t giggle.
Through it all, Lanthimos exhibits precise control. The film is a tight, well-edited 1 hour and 58 minutes. The script, lucid and accessible, was written by Will Tracy and Jang Joon-hwan, based on the latter’s 2003 film. The production design by Academy Award winner James Price encapsulates wildly divergent world views, from the glossy luxe emptiness of Michelle’s compound to the faded, generational bric-a-brac of Teddy’s farmhouse, to the bleak basement where Teddy and Michelle negotiate and interrogate.
“Bugonia” is rated R for bloody content, including a suicide and grisly images. While Stone’s character spends a good chunk of the film drenched in blood, the violence is sudden and brief.
So, should you see it? Yes. Especially if you’re a Lanthimos fan or someone who likes a well-crafted, surrealist sci-fi satire with lots of surprises and fantastic acting.
“Bugonia” shows at Park City Film at the Santy Auditorium Jan. 2 - 4. On Saturday, Park City Film’s brand new Cinephile Club will have a post-film discussion. Register for free on their website.
