Before my Bugonia screening I was talking to another critic about past reviews we regret, either because we were too positive or too negative. It happens to all critics. Movies can get much better or much worse after multiple rewatches. Sometimes things you just don’t “get” what a film was trying to do after a first screening. On some occasions, you need time to reflect on a work of art to appreciate it. Only time is rarely afforded to film critics, so I woke up the next morning after that conversation to write my review of Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film. And you’re not going to read it because I got it wrong. Turns out I needed a few days to fully appreciate what Bugonia was doing and saying, all of which is better than I initially realized.
If my screening of Bugonia abruptly ended after the first 2/3rds of the movie this review would have been a breeze to write. It would have been absolutely glowing. In fact, here’s what the opening paragraph to that version might have looked like:
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film is easily his best in years. It features all of the technical prowess and world-class performances you’d expect from one of his movies, but unlike his most recent outings Bugonia is overflowing with rich ideas. This is a movie with a lot to say. All of it smart and important. It’s not weird for the sake of being weird, in the way the aimless Kinds of Kindness was. It’s a challenging, creative work of art that hums at its own unique frequency, blending dark comedy, horror, and drama to make something wholly new. At the center of it all is a painful, complicated tale about life, existence, trauma, capitalism, conspiracies, family, purpose, and modern life. All of which are in deep conversation with one another. The result is a stunning, beautiful, sad film.
What a movie, right? Obviously my screening did not end abruptly when I felt that way, and when I walked out I was incredibly frustrated. It seemed Lanthimos made an inexplicable decision to completely undercut everything he had been working towards.
It’s not easy to talk about Bugonia—a remake of the 2003 South Korean movie Save the Green Planet!—and exactly why I didn’t initially like its final act without sharing major spoilers. (Don’t assume you know what that means nor how it goes about getting there.) I can’t even discuss what literary device it employs in the third act. What I can say is that in the moment, when the film seemingly shifted in such a way, it seemed to reframe everything that had already happened. I thought all of its great ideas were rendered almost entirely moot.
Only, it doesn’t reframe anything. I was so caught up in what was literally happening on screen, I didn’t give the film enough credit for why it was happening. Bugonia is ultimately the exact story it starts telling at the beginning. It’s about something very specific, an idea—made up of so many great, deep, important smaller ideas—that is compelling, heartbreaking, and deeply human.
The fact I had such a visceral negative reaction to the third act is still a mark against the film. It doesn’t feel good to suddenly feel frustrated and disappointed by a movie you loved, and some viewers will always dislike the movie because of how it ends. But if there’s one thing that’s clear from Yorgos Lanthimos’ previous films, it’s that he doesn’t care. In fact, making you feel that way is sort of the point. He doesn’t make straight forward, easily digestible movies. He wants to challenge you. Lanthimos wants you to think about what he’s made long after you leave your seat. Sometimes that approach works brilliantly, like with The Favourite, a movie that gets richer with time. Other times it doesn’t, like with Kinds of Kindness, which remains frustratingly elusive.
In this case, his approach ultimately works. I just needed a little bit of time to understand why.
What did not leave me disappointed or frustrated at any point were the performances from the film’s five primary stars. Jesse Plemons is absolutely phenomenal as Teddy, a sad, hopeless, loser plagued by past trauma. Teddy is convinced a rich CEO is secretly one of the aliens trying to destroy Earth. Emma Stone plays that unethical corporate bigwig who remains defiant even after Teddy kidnaps her. Stone spends most of the movie covered in white lotion and chained to the floor and she’s exactly as good as you’d imagine she’d be in that type of role. Her Michelle is detestable, yet still sympathetic. As is Teddy, who Plemons imbues with such humanity you have to remind yourself that what he’s doing is horrific.
The dichotomy of a righteous, surprisingly smart, obviously disturbed kidnapper and his vile, power-hungry, vulnerable hostage who talks in maddening corporate speak is what makes Bugonia challenging and effective. At its best it plays like true horror, but with Lanthimos’ signature dark comedy permeating everything. It took me a little bit to feel like I understood what i was watching, but once I accepted Bugonia is doing its own thing, I felt like I was on the same wavelength. (Not carrying that energy into the third act is what led me to not fully appreciate the ending at first.)
The film’s third lead, Aidan Delbis, is just as good as his two famous co-stars. (That probably undersells his performance.) Delbis, who is an actor on the autism spectrum and plays a character who is also autistic, is absolutely crushing as Teddy’s cousin Don. This is Delbis’ feature film debut, and it’s a total knockout. One scene is especially going to stay with me for a long time, but that could apply to multiple moments in the film.
I did not expect comedian Stavros Halkias to pop up on screen as a police officer named Casey. I’m glad he did. While his casting seemed to be purely about adding more comedy to the film, his specific presence and performance in the film ends up being far more important to the story. Having Halkias in the role makes it more powerful in an unexpected way. It’s a poignant part that would be less so with a more dramatic actor.
While I didn’t expect to see Halkias, I didn’t even realize I saw Alicia Silverstone until the end credits. I wasn’t the only one in my screening who didn’t realize she was in the movie, either. You probably won’t miss her now that I said this, but that won’t change how good she is in a small but important part.
Bugonia is a creative, interesting, powerful, sad, funny movie. It has so much to say about life, capitalism, religion, and our own failures. It says all of that in ways that will frustrate some and delight others. And, in certain cases such as myself, it will do both. And that’s why I can’t wait to see it again.
Obviously that wasn’t how I originally ended this. Fortunately, since you’ll never get to read that version, this is one review I won’t have to regret some day. Bugonia hits theaters on October 24.
Bugonia ⭐ (4.5 of 5)
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Source: Kiat Media
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