Bugonia

I hate to admit it, but when I went to see Bugnoia for the first time, I fell asleep in the theater. That never happens! I realized on my second watch that I was only out for a few minutes. But what can I say? It was warm in the theater, it was a quieter part of the film… and I woke up to Emma Stone being electrocuted to Green Day’s Basket Case. Talk about a unique experience. Scared the hell outta me. Anyways, I was wide awake for the rest of the film.

Don’t take my impromptu nap as an insult to this film. It is a fascinating slow burn that leads to one hell of an epic conclusion. Jesse Plemons plays Teddy, a man who believes so deeply in a conspiracy theory involving a local CEO and aliens that he and his cousin kidnap her in preparation for the next lunar eclipse and save the human race.

The CEO is Michelle, played by Emma Stone. She seems like a very powerful no-nonsense business woman, not exactly a people person but hey, you don’t run a company by being nice, right? She puts up a good fight in the abduction scene and wakes up in a basement, chained to a bed, her hair all cut off and she’s been slathered in some sort of cream. Teddy explains this is so she cannot contact her ship or use her powers against them. She has the prefect eyes to look at anyone like they’re crazy.

The tension between Stone and Plemon’s characters is what makes this film so intriguing. Michelle quickly understands that she is not in control as a captive and it’s best not to agitate Teddy. When she realizes there’s no changing his mind she decides to play along, admitting that she’s an alien. Anything to get out, right? But when she sees just how deeply Teddy has researched this alien conspiracy the tables turn, but we only see it until the very end. Honestly, it had me guessing until the last few minutes. What a wild ride.

There’s something about Yorgos Lanthimos’s films that always intrigue me in a unique way. I rarely like his characters, but I’m nonetheless drawn to them. You can almost believe Emma Stone is an alien with her head shaved and she’s slathered in an uneven white cream. And Jesse Plemon already looks like he has a whole alien conspiracy bunker in real life, he plays this part so amazingly well, I wish this year’s acting field had not been so thick against him. And cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) is a wonderful sidekick to Teddy, who is clearly autistic but neither Teddy, Lanthimos nor the audience can count him out. He’s a powerful actor too, holding his own in these wild scenes. And in typical Lanthimos fashion, he has these quiet scenes that suddenly explode. Sometimes through action, with sudden powerful orchestra music or both. It’s intense and adds even more tension to this film. 

Bugonia is nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, original screenplay and original score. And Emma Stone is nominated for lead actress, her fifth acting nomination. 

I think Bugonia is one of those films that really needs a second watch to fully appreciate all of its complexities. Not just because I was a tired dork who nodded off at some point. But to really get everything behind Stone’s amazing performance, you really need to see it twice and gain multiple perspectives. Like I said, I thought Teddy was a total nut-job until the last few minutes of the film and I think it works well that way. Lanthimos doesn’t want our suspension of disbelief quite like that. But seeing it again, you find so much nuance in Stone’s performance and little clues along the way. The way she repeats, “How many were Andromidons?” hit me like a frying pan. She can play weird roles so perfectly! Is it enough for a third Oscar? Maybe. 

“This is really difficult for me as well. You killed my family, you killed my community, you killed my co-workers and you killed the bees. So given that, you should really appreciate how professional I’m being by not gutting you.”