By 
Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to ‘Poor Things’, ‘Bugonia’ is an English language remake of a 2003 South Korean film called ‘Save The Green Planet’ and, as you’d expect with the Greek auteur, a strange one at that.
Marking his fourth collaboration with Emma Stone and second with Jesse Plemons, Bugonia is the story of two conspiracy theory ‘incel’ loners Teddy (Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis). Having gone down one too many conspiratorial rabbit holes, Teddy convinces Don that pharmaceutical company CEO Michelle Fuller (Stone) is from the planet Andromeda.
They kidnap her, shave her head and hold her hostage over four days, convinced that the Andromedan emperor will arrive at the lunar eclipse to take her home, so they can negotiate saving the planet’s bees. Initially, Michelle attempts to convince the men she’s not alien but, in the hope of being freed, eventually decides to play along.
A plot like that is rife for the loopy, perverse, absurdist comedy that Lanthimos usually peddles in, it’s just a shame he didn’t lean into it. Part conspiracy theory critique, part kidnap thriller, part apocalyptic dread movie, Bugonia is a mixed bag of a movie that just doesn’t seem to fit with its director.
I think its biggest fault is that Lanthimos didn’t write this, instead leaving screenwriting duties to TV writer Will Tracey. Anchored by two terrific performances, Bugonia’s script is a hodgepodge of different ideas (culture wars, echo chambers and environmental collapse) that aren’t as insightful as they want to be or indeed should be to fully engage the audience, lacking nuance.
Bugonia wants to be taken seriously but misses the mark. There are some good scenes in it, in particular a dinner table conversation, and the scenes where Teddy interrogates Michelle in the basement are also well done; it’s impressive watching Michelle’s no-nonsense corporate demeanour battle it out with Teddy’s deluded but steadfast determination he’s right.
Beset by family tragedy, Teddy is a man looking for his purpose in the world; one conversation has him admit he’s tried every fringe movement going, now convinced that this Andromeda fantasy is real.
Additionally, when Michelle decides she will play along, it’s a ripe opportunity for Stone to go ‘full alien’ and lean into the more absurdist comedy elements.
She is a terrific physical comedian and could have utilised that to good effect but it’s a complete missed opportunity.
Bugonia has laughs, but not many.
We only get something close to a Lanthimos film towards the end and that raises a few chuckles but all-in-all Bugonia misses the mark by a long way.
