'Bugonia': A Timely, Darkly Comedic Thriller

PHOTO: Focus Features

With images of bees and voice-over narration from Jesse Plemons, we are introduced to the world of Bugonia, the latest from filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. Plemons’s narration tells us about the lives of bees and the hierarchy that exists within their colonies. This illustration informs so much of the rest of the film, and the voice-over does a great job of getting the viewer acquainted with the tone of the film as well as the world view of Plemons’s character, Teddy. What follows this intro is a film about paranoia and power dynamics, as well as one’s quest for control in a chaotic world. Despite being a remake of a 2003 South Korean film titled Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia is rather timely given how prominent conspiracy theories, misinformation, and general paranoia have become in American culture. In addition, the film sees Lanthimos return to his darker sensibilities and deliver a pitch-black comedy that has more in common with The Killing of a Sacred Deer than Poor Things. Bugonia is gripping, strange, and wonderfully bleak, and ends up being a fitting paranoid thriller for this current day and age. 

Teddy (Jesse Plemons) is a working class man and aspiring beekeeper who thinks he has uncovered a major conspiracy. He believes that wealthy CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is an alien, belonging to a species called the Andromedans. He also believes that the Andromedans are responsible for many of the Earth’s problems, such as the decrease of the honeybee population and forcing humans into subservient roles. Aided by his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy kidnaps her, shaves her head, and imprisons her in his basement in hopes that she can get him an audience with the Andromedan emperor. His plan soon becomes complicated, as Michelle insists that she’s not an alien and the authorities carry out a manhunt to find her. As the film goes on, the lines between reality and conspiracy become increasingly blurred, causing tensions to rise even further between Teddy and Michelle.

Those who are only familiar with Yorgos Lanthimos via The Favourite or Poor Things might not know what to make of Bugonia, as it is more in line with his earlier films than it is those. Those who have been hoping that Lanthimos would return to the darker sensibilities found in films like The Lobster or The Killing of a Sacred Deer, however, will be glad to hear that he does just that here. While he tried to return to his earlier style with last year’s Kinds of Kindness, that film feels more like an appetizer for Bugonia. Lanthimos is completely in the zone, demonstrating strong focus and making great use of the film’s contained setting. Much of the action unfolds in Teddy’s house, giving the film a narrower scope than some of Lanthimos’s recent output, but also contributing heavily to the suspenseful atmosphere to the film. I was a little on edge throughout the film, and it strikes just the right balance between being disturbing and being humorous. In other words, this film is classic Yorgos in the best possible way.

I was a little unsure how the film would turn out due to this being Lanthimos’s first collaboration with screenwriter Will Tracy. Yorgos tends to work with the same screenwriters and has specific modes he operates in with them. Tracy represents a new variable, but it turns out that he pairs nicely with Lanthimos. The two are able to reach that specific level of absurdity found across Lanthimos’s filmography while still feeling fresh and allowing each other to try new things in their respective craft. Much like Tracy’s other work, the film makes interesting commentary on the world, specifically through the effect that conspiracy theories can have on people. But instead of painting with broad strokes, the film zeros in on Teddy and his beliefs, as well as the potential reasoning behind them. This, coupled with the ambiguity of whether Michelle is an alien or not, helps make the film utterly compelling, as it forces the viewer to consider and reconsider where they stand multiple times throughout. I’d argue that this is Tracy’s best work yet, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him and Lanthimos team up again in the future. 

Jesse Plemons previously proved himself a perfect match for Lanthimos in Kinds of Kindness, but his work here is next level. He captures something so specific and so real in his performance, effortlessly embodying Teddy and feeling extremely natural despite the wild tone of the film. At first, the character comes off as a conspiracy nut, but we gradually see why he believes what he does as the film goes on. Plemons plays Teddy as a man searching for meaning in a world that has been so cruel to him, something that is easy for most to connect with, but difficult to portray. Plemons makes it look easy, though, depicting Teddy’s brokenness and complicated nature naturally and with precision. From the jump, we get that Teddy isn’t a good person, and yet you can’t help but feel sorry for him a little. Part of that comes through in the writing, but so much of it is due to Plemons’s performance. He is simply phenomenal in this, and it just might be his best work yet.

Emma Stone has become somewhat of a muse for Lanthimos, and she continues her great track record with him here. This might be Stone’s most internal performance in a Yorgos film, but it is still highly effective. She plays the mystery of her character, Michelle, so well, keeping the audience guessing what her true intentions are and whether or not she is an alien. Much like Plemons, Stone feels incredibly natural in the role, but wisely keeps her cards close to her chest. Michelle provides a great contrast to Teddy, as we find out so much about him, but so much about her stays hidden. Stone and Plemons together are excellent, delivering a masterclass in tension and bouncing off each other incredibly well. They handle the film’s shifting power dynamics nicely, and are so compelling every step of the way. The role of Michelle is rather challenging, but Stone is up for the task and pulls it off with aplomb. 

As far as debut performances go, Aidan Delbis gives one for the ages. I was surprised that this is not only Delbis’s first screen credit, but that he was cast in Bugonia while he was still in high school. He has talent beyond his years, and a magnetic presence that makes a huge impression on the film as a whole. Delbis is autistic, as is Don, the character he plays. This detail adds an interesting wrinkle to the film and Teddy and Don’s dynamic, allowing for further commentary and added depth. In many ways, Delbis is the heart and soul of the film, as you can’t help but feel for him all throughout. He is easily the most pure of heart out of all the characters in the film, but most importantly, he feels like a real person. This makes so much of what he does and goes through in the film hit harder, and he lands the film’s more emotional moments so well. Delbis is definitely one to watch, and I hope we see more of him in the future. 

The film also has a great look to it, utilizing a unique 1.50:1 aspect ratio and VistaVision format to create stunning images. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is excellent, making great use of wide shots and dialing back the stylization he tends to exhibit when working with Lanthimos. He does pull out his trademark fish-eye lens in at least a couple of moments, but much of his work here is focused on creating a slight unease in the viewer on a visual level. It is incredibly well-shot and composed, continuing Ryan’s hot streak as one of cinema’s most interesting cinematographers. 

I also must mention Jerskin Fendrix’s score, which features bursts of brass and string arrangements that had me buzzing. I was surprised to find out that Fendrix scored this film without actually seeing it, instead creating it based on four words from Lanthimos. Those words were: bees, basement, spaceship, and Emily-bald. This is a pretty risky maneuver, but Fendrix delivers a score that is unusual but fits the film’s paranoid energy perfectly. It can be a touch much in a couple of instances, but it still works incredibly well and managed to hit me pretty hard.

Bugonia is a film I can see turning people off, either due to its darker content or its potentially divisive ending, but as a huge fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, I was all-in on it. It has some characteristics of his more recent output, but it largely feels more like his earlier, bleaker work. It is the type of film that has grown on me the more I sit with it, and has interesting details that have become clearer with time. Like all of Yorgos’s films, this isn’t for everyone, but longtime fans will undoubtedly be pleased. It is a film that is succinct, yet offers plenty to chew on, allowing the audience to consider why people subscribe to certain conspiracy theories, as well as the validity of questioning the world around us and those in charge. Bugonia is pretty timely, but more than that, it is a stunning, darkly funny thriller with three excellent performances, and yet another memorable cinematic experience from Yorgos Lanthimos. 

Rating: 4.5/5