The Reel Review
A conspiracy-obsessed beekeeper and his autistic cousin kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major pharmaceutical bioengineering company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying Earth. Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone star in this very dark, satirical crime comedy from Oscar-nominated director Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), a remake of director Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 cult classic, Save the Green Planet!
Lanthimos’ two frequent acting muses deliver some pretty impressive, all-in performances in this frenetic, shock-filled crime comedy. After awakening and discovering her head shaved (per the kidnappers, long hair is how aliens communicate, after all), Stone’s kidnapped CEO must think fast on her feet to manipulate these doofuses and save herself. Plemons is next level good as the almost child-like, easily manipulated kidnapper. Flashbacks to days prior reveal how the kidnappers initially came into contact with their target, as well as hilarious details about their totally bonkers conspiracy theories. As the story progresses, more dark and disturbing details emerge about the main kidnapper.
Working from a cleverly written screenplay by Will Tracy (Succession, The Menu, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and featuring a booming, attention-grabbing score, Bugonia is an exceedingly dark and damning send-up of our current age of misinformation – conspiracy podcasts, propaganda TV networks posing as news channels and crackpot social media influencers – and the dangerous echo chambers they create. Many viewers will see the ending as mean-spirited and dark, but it is only to humans, not the planet itself, giving new meaning to the title, bug-on-ya.
REEL FACTS
• Director Yorgos Lanthimos cast acting newcomer Aidan Delbis, who is neurodivergent, to create a different dynamic for his two co-stars.
• Jesse Plemons says his recent dramatic weight loss is not the result of the drug Ozempic, but rather the result of intermittent fasting and a lifestyle change, motivated by the physical demands of his role in 2024’s Civil War, starring his wife, Kirsten Dunst.
• Emma Stone said having her head shaved on camera for this fifth collaboration with director Lanthimos (The Favourite, Bleat, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness) was much easier than gaining 15 pounds of muscle. She shaved Lanthimos’ head just prior to filming that scene.
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