BUGONIA Review - What the F*** Did I Just Watch?

RT - 🍅 88%

My Score - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

So, at this point, I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that Yorgos Lanthimos, however brilliant he is, really pushes the boundaries of normal: The Lobster, Poor Things, just to name a few.

It's safe to say that before I started watching Bugonia, I had no clue what this movie was going to be about, but I knew that I was in for a wild ride.

Sure enough, my boy Yorgos did not disappoint!

Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Emma Stone), and Best Adapted Screenplay, Bugonia boasts a stellar cast with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons leading the way.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Based on the South Korean short film Save the Green Planet! (2003), the story follows Teddy Gatz (Plemons) and his autistic cousin Don (played by Aidan Delbis), who believes that Big Pharma CEO Michelle Fuller (Stone) is an extraterrestrial from an alien race known as Andromedans whose sole purpose is to take over planet earth and destroy it. We learn that his paranoia was set on by the sickness of his mother (played by Alicia Silverstone) caused by the cancer medication given to her by the Pharmaceutical company called Auxolith.

In an effort to keep his planet from being destroyed, and possibly save his dying mother, he brainwashes his autistic cousin to believe the lie, and convinces him to kidnap Michelle. They succeed. They then lock her in their basement, shave her head bald (they believe that her hair is how she communicates with the Mothership), and cover her in antihistamine cream to prevent her from sending out a distress signal. They want to wait until the lunar eclipse, in which she will take Teddy up to the Mothership so he can negotiate the peaceful surrender of the Andromedans from planet earth. 

The story is completely bonkers, which is typical of a Yorgos Lanthimos film. However, I believe the story is far more palatable than his previous works. He was able to get another Oscar worthy performance from his star, Emma Stone, who performs the character with a strangely calm but demanding temperament under such extreme circumstances. The dialogue between her and Plemons plays quite comical, where you find yourself laughing, even though the circumstances are completely deranged. 

Many people are saying that Plemons was snubbed for his role in the film, and I happen to agree. Plemons grows on me more and more every time I see him, and this film is, by far, his best performance to date in my opinion. You spend the entire time almost cheering for him to win, while also recognizing that he can't possibly win. His paranoia is what drives the entire film in a shaky, fast-paced adventure that is quite entertaining. 

I know that it may seem messed up to say, but the film is quite entertaining. The performances, along with such a fast-paced, intelligent screenplay, finished with the jarring and powerful score by Jerskin Fendrix, this film is a wild ride from beginning to end, with so many twists and turns that make you believe that there must be intelligent life out there in the universe, and makes you ponder the existential question: are we, as a planet, worth saving?

Bravo, Yorgos!