Yorgos Lanthimos shows no signs of slowing down with his latest nightmare Bugonia, a strangely comical and infinitely dark meditation on conspiracy in the age of misinformation. Though it perhaps lacks the deep empathy of his previous films, it is nonetheless one of the most gripping, a two-hour trip high on delusion and paranoia that feels refreshingly honest and authentic.
Loosely based on Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 Save The Green Planet!, his muse Emma Stone stars as Michelle Fuller, a cold and polished high-flying CEO of a major pharma company, abducted by cousins Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) who believe her to be an alien sent to destroy their world. Their sole request is simple: the alien must contact her emperor and ask them to retreat peacefully from earth. The whole thing is brilliantly funny – Teddy and Don are not the most adept kidnappers, nor is Michelle the most amenable captive. Nevertheless, Bugonia is a film where anything is possible and nothing is certain. Darkness lurks in the unsavoury beats of Jerskin Fendrix’s soundtrack – could Michelle actually be an alien? Are Teddy and Don that insane, really?
While Lanthimos’ previous films are purposefully aesthetic, Bugonia seems to be purposefully unesthetic, though it is quite clear how researched and detailed the ugliness of its setting and characters are. Michelle’s clinical existence desperately clashes with Teddy and Don’s countryside house, filled to the brim with newspaper clippings and cheap cake. This is a superb cast, and an even more superb chemistry between the three leads, particularly Stone and the majestic Plemons, who plays insanity with gusto and vulnerability – though Stone is as always excellent, it is the latter, teetering between collected, factual tour guide mannerisms and uncontrollable spats, that is truly convincing in his conviction. A kidnapping story told from the perspective of the kidnapper (Jang apparently came up with the idea for Save the Green Planet! after watching Misery and being disappointed by Annie Wilkes’ lack of depth), Teddy’s processes are as polished as Michelle’s morning routine – while she drinks her vitamins and protein powder, boxes and runs on the treadmill with an altitude mask, Teddy is carefully planning the logistics of his abduction, a refined manner he maintains throughout. The alien must be shaved as it can communicate telepathically via hair, for instance. He and his cousin must be chemically castrated so as not to let themselves be distracted by the alien’s seduction – to this, Michelle rolls her eyes, almost empathetically. But this is perfectly sane for Teddy, and a necessary to keep the world turning. He can be hailed a hero later – his clarity of mind is all he needs right now, a journey he takes his gullible cousin on with him.
Though Lanthimos is on top form here, it is Will Tracy’s script that particularly distinguishes itself, as Michelle and Teddy dialogue to the death – or rather, argue incessantly. The piece de resistance no doubt is the dinner scene, in which they take opposing views at either end of the table, while Don, arguably the real victim, looks on miserably. Why are the bees dying, asks Teddy. He knows the answer (or his answer), but of course, Michelle does not want to own up. The only reason he is blaming her, she says, is because they don’t know why the bees are dying. And if she is responsible, then at least there will be a reason. It’s a masterclass not only in dialogue, but in capturing the insanity of today, a story about conviction in the age of misinformation – and the paralysing idiocy of never changing one’s mind.
Bugonia screened at the London Film Festival.
