To sum up the dark comedy in a few sentences: "Two young conspiracy theorists kidnap a famous pharmaceutical CEO because they think she is an alien from another planet that wants bad to earth."
You would have guessed that the film covers the topics of sequestration and trauma but surprisingly, the movie also delivers an interesting critique of the current state of humanity which is consecrated by the stunning final scene that will give you a lot to think about. It is also important to note that the abstract aspect of the ending calls for several different theories.
The author of all this happy mess is no other than the genius, the disturb, the mind from another dimension Yorgos Lanthimos. As usual, the nominated Oscar director uses all his art to make us uncomfortable in front of his long, tense scenes and reinforces his world famous disturbing style.
The Greek director is on his way to add a fifth Oscar nominated movie to his filmography and maybe reproduce the four wins of Poor Things back in 2023. Also, it is important to recognise the exceptional screenplay by Will Tracy. After writing the sublime The Menu, the American writer once again expresses his strange talents which fits perfectly with the originality of Lanthimos. As one would expect from their collaboration, the final product represents a serious contender for the awards season next January.
To portray all these brilliant ideas, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons succeed in the heavy task of making this black comedy even more comical thanks to their versatility. First of all, after winning many 'Best Actress' prizes for Poor Thing, Emma Stone signs a new impressive performance, once again, thanks to her innate talent and Lanthimos instructions. She actually deserves even more credit this time, because she had to go through significant physical change for the part, including a significant change of haircut.
...performance of madness and discomfort...
On the other hand, Jesse Plemons pulled out one of his most complicated roles of his career. The thirty seven-year-old actor repeats his performance of madness and discomfort that he did in Kinds Of Kindness in 2024 where he was accompanied by the same team as here. Speaking of this film, fans of Yorgos Lanthimos will have the pleasure of discovering an easter egg that relates Bugonia to this movie, for even more fun.
We are living in a period of cinema where this type of film is not so rare and is not unanimous among the public, but with a master of this genre like Yorgos Lanthimos and a talented cast, these abstract stories become true critiques of humanity.
As he said himself, he is going to take a break from directing after 3 years of wonderfully weird movies. In a year where there has been a lot of commentary on the state of the world and some governments, Bugonia stands out as one of the most original that is on its way to write its name in history.