Bugonia

In Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2025 remake of the South Korean cult hit Save the Green Planet!, two conspiracy-obsessed cousins execute a daring abduction of the ruthless CEO (Emma Stone) from a globe-spanning tech empire, certain she’s an extraterrestrial with designs on wiping out humanity.

Bugonia Review

Scholars debate whether Socrates or Aesop first formulated the concept that would become the now-commonplace proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” However, no matter who it was, this millennia-old truism remains undisputed. What’s not considered nearly as often is that the opposite is just as accurate. However, few industries suffer from success quite as spectacularly as those connected with Hollywood, where the egos are as big as the fake breasts.

                   

With Hollywood sycophants still singing the praises of Yorgos Lanthimos’ demonic Poor Things, it’s little wonder that no one bothered to try and convince him that Bugonia would have benefited from being only marginally more mainstream, as well as having a director who was more interested in compelling narrative than finger-wagging. As it stands, Lanthimos’s obstinate need to massage his ego with the avant-garde, not to mention his perceived moral superiority, delivers us what is almost a terrific film, right up until it’s not.

Fans of Superbad and Zombieland who still only think of Emma Stone as a cute, spunky comedic actress, despite her numerous critically acclaimed roles across a wide variety of genres, should adjust their thinking. Were we still living in a time with cinematic giants behind the camera—the type of men who shaped whole generations of entertainment—Stone’s name would be mentioned with the same reverence as the likes of Streep and Roberts (and far more deserving of it than the latter). Yes, she is that good, and in 99% of Bugonia, she’s transformative.

However, as brilliant as her performance is, it pales in comparison to that of Jesse Plemons. Plemons, who’s been in everything from Sabrina the Teenage Witch to The Irishman, is another actor who, had he been at his peak in the 80s and 90s, would be a household name halfway through his second divorce from this month’s A-list starlet, and telling us how proud he is of his transvestite son’s bravery. In Bugonia, Plemons shows he is fully capable of delivering a cellular-level performance on par with Daniel Day-Lewis or his contemporary, Joaquin Phoenix. If, like me, you’re a student of performance first, Bugonia is worth the watch just for him.

Part of what makes these performances (as well as those of its small supporting cast) land is Lanthimos’ cinematography, which, even in a narrative, ethical, and moral travesty like Poor Things, is unmistakably a visual masterclass. In Bugonia, Lanthimos mostly restrains himself from the grandiosity for which he’s made a name for himself. He frames scenes with such clarity and purpose that the camera itself almost feels like another character. His tight, intimate shots of the performers draw out sincerity and the subtle verisimilitude of humanity; the actors don’t have to overplay, because he captures nuance with effortless precision. This almost toned-down version of his style is one of the aspects that makes much of the movie work.

Unfortunately, despite his more deliberate visual storytelling in this film, Lanthimos continually gets in the movie’s way as he layers on metaphors that only he gets, punctuated by overbearing, discordant orchestral chaos in lieu of a score. Each instance only serves to remind you that, while the film is billed as a comedy, the joke is actually on you. Bugonia is the cinematic equivalent of being at the bar with your buddies and striking up a conversation with an incredibly attractive woman who’s oblivious to what a bore she is because every man she’s ever talked to has laughed riotously at all of her inane “comedic observations” in the hopes of sleeping with her. Bugonia has the body of a 10 and the soul of a slug.

Even when the story struggles under Lanthimos’ self-indulgence, the dialogue retains a sharpness and natural rhythm that keeps the characters engaging and lends the script more weight than the rest of the film might suggest.

The pacing and editing are exquisite for a thriller or drama, lending the film a taut energy that keeps scenes engaging. But comedy is another matter entirely. Lanthimos has no comedic sensibilities, and the lack is most noticeable in the closing minutes, when the narrative screeches to a halt in a fiery tonal explosion. The attempted punchline lands on a completely different frequency than the rest of the film, and it undoes much of what the first two hours accomplished.

Bugonia’s theme and subtext aim for grand nihilism: man is inherently brutal and irredeemable, best wiped from the earth so that something better can rise from his carcass. But, like the ancient Mediterranean belief for which the film is named—bees spontaneously spawning from the carcasses of dead cows and forming highly organized societies—the execution collapses into absurdity. Seeing this nihilistic conceit played out by wealthy, successful actors who have made fortunes “playing pretend” only amplifies the hollowness.

If it were possible to get through a single thrilling scene, enjoying it on its own dramatic merits, feeling as though it’s building to a satisfying conclusion instead of wondering, “What is the director actually trying to say about society here,” it might… Strike that. Bugonia would be a movie worth sharing. However, it’s not, and it’s not. That it collapses in upon its own hot-girlness in its last moments only serves to underline how self-indulgent style without narrative primacy can derail even films with the most potential.

WOKE REPORT

They’re Laughing at You, But…

• Love him or hate him, with Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos has made a movie with a thematic complexity that defies our black-and-white labels of Woke or Based (thanks in large part to its logical contradictions). While I suspect that his intent was to create a nihilistic commentary on the hopelessness of mankind in the face of its relentless brutality, the fact is that, whether by design or due to ontological realities that defy his capabilities, his resulting creation more closely affirms a Right-centric ethos, or at least a neutral one, than the film’s conclusion might seem to warrant. We critique results, not intent.
  • I loathe giving spoilers, but there really is no way to meaningfully discuss this film’s radical progressiveness—or lack thereof—without completely spoiling it. You have been warned. The following will utterly ruin the film. If you have any interest in seeing it, DO NOT READ FURTHER.

MAJOR SPOILERS. DO NOT READ

• Spoiler

  Jesse Plemons’ character is portrayed as an unhinged conspiracy nut throughout the entire film, right up until he’s proven to be exactly right in every one of his suspicions. So, while 99% of the film seems like it’s making fun of right-wing conspiracy lunatics, and by extension everyone on the right (since they lump us all together), it’s not, or it’s doing it so poorly as to make little distinction.

  • There’s some very deliberate dialogue that Plemons’ character delivers, calling out both left- and right-wing ideologies as manufactured tools to pollute the minds of the masses.
  • Even though Emma Stone’s Michelle (a clear Leftist) is the closest thing Bugonia has to a sympathetic character, she ends up murdering 8 billion people with some fairly brutal casualness. Call me crazy, but in my opinion, this completely invalidates her perspective.
  • Of course, it’s entirely possible that the film was made as a meta-joke, meant to give the filmmakers a laugh as folks like me attempt to label it. It very well could be that the joke is that the movie is a send-up of what he believes we believe. It’s also possible that he and his writing team truly think that humanity is without merit and that we deserve to be wiped out. Then again, the utter ambiguity could be the point. After Lanthimos’s last creation, which was pure evil, I wouldn’t put anything past him.

Just to be Clear

• Make no mistake, I’m completely open to those who interpret the film as completely Woke. It all depends on what perspective you think the film is actually coming from. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s watched it and has a different point of view. Let me know in the comments.