Bugonia
The almighty Yorgos Lanthimos has opted to put his own singular spin on Jang Joon-hwan’s apocalyptic farce, with committed performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
The grand delusion: Emma Stone fights back.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures.
When about to sample a new Yorgos Lanthimos release, you can be guaranteed of two things. One, the film will be a meticulously crafted piece of cinema, and, two, it will be unlike anything you have seen for quite a while. There’s no easy definition of Bugonia other than to say it is, arguably, a mash-up of abduction thriller, black comedy, sci-fi farce, Theatre of the Absurd and a commentary on the lunacy of conspiracy theorists. Take your pick.
Emma Stone, the director’s muse (who will apparently put herself through anything for the man), plays Michelle Fuller, the CEO of Auxolith, a pharmaceutical company of considerable prominence. But in the eyes of Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons), a dishevelled and scrawny albeit articulate conspiracy theorist, Michelle is an alien from the galaxy of Andromeda. Following a failed medical procedure that has left his mother in hospital on life support, Teddy is seeking not just revenge but salvation for the human species. So, having convinced his intellectually impaired housemate Don (Aidan Delbis) of Michelle’s extraterrestrial status, he and Don set about trying to abduct her from her well-appointed retreat…
Besides sitting back and appreciating the cinematic finesse that Lanthimos brings to his material, there is not too much to get excited about here. Sure, there is the pin-sharp VistaVision cinematography, the sumptuous production design, the dedicated performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, Jerskin Fendrix’s imposing orchestral score and the effervescent dialogue that is the stuff of grand theatre. But to what end? The original South Korean film, Jang Joon-hwan's 2003 Save the Green Planet!, was a dynamic, stylish, surprising, shocking, very funny and occasionally profound kaleidoscope of genres that kept one breathlessly entertained. Here, Lanthimos has settled for a more stately tone, eschewing both realism and caricature, relying on a sort of WTF approach to keep the viewer engaged. Of course, it’s a wildly original show, but one that lags in the penultimate act, although its multiple layers will no doubt reveal themselves in the fullness of time. And the ending is almost worth the price of admission alone.
Incidentally, the title refers to the ancient Greek belief that bees could spontaneously materialise from the carcass of a dead cow. Which explains everything.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone.
Dir Yorgos Lanthimos, Pro Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen and Miky Lee, Screenplay Will Tracy, Ph Robbie Ryan, Pro Des James Price, Ed Yorgos Mavropsaridis, Music Jerskin Fendrix, Costumes Jennifer Johnson, Sound Johnnie Burn, Dialect coach Jessica Drake.
Element Pictures/Square Peg/CJ ENM/Pith/Fruit Tree Enterprises-Universal Pictures.
118 mins. USA/UK/Ireland/South Korea/Canada. MMXXV. UK and US Rel: 31 October 2025. Cert. 15.
