Reteaming with his muse, Emma Stone, director Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) presents a movie that is an unusual, psychological drama, Bugonia, a well-acted tale of trauma and wild plots.
Teddy (Jesse Plemons) is a conspiracy theorist who, with his not so bright cousin, Don, abduct a high-powered executive, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) and hold her prisoner in their remote home. They think of themselves as part of a human resistance defending against a threat from aliens, and Michelle is their means to contact their mother ship. As Michelle attempts to reason with her captors, Teddy is shown to be one who has experienced trauma and suffered great loss. As he counts the days until the lunar eclipse when the mother ship must depart, a startling truth emerges about his past and how his fate is connected to Michelle. It all leads to a stunning conclusion that takes an astonishing turn where reality is subverted and turned on its head.
The strong screenplay is an exercise in unresolved conflict with echoes not unlike The Fisher King, and while it holds your attention for a good portion of the film, it doesn’t always hold together. What the film does so well is to project a seemingly straightforward story that slowly evolves into something completely different. Plemons registers a terrific performance with his biggest role to date as a seemingly obsessed man with secrets and a great deal of pain, while Stone excels as a complex character who has ulterior motives and hidden agendas.
Your
reaction to the film will depend greatly on its remarkable, unorthodox ending
which requires suspension of disbelief and understanding how Lanthimos works
his narratives and takes risks, but if you are game and want something challenging,
you will appreciate this atypical, unconventional film.
****
of ***** (for Lanthimos fans)
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