Bugonia

⭐ 9.5/10

This might not be the best movie of the year, but its certainly my favourite so far. Teddy (Plemons) and Don kidnap a high powered CEO (Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien, and attempt to find a way to her mothership to barter for the future of humanity. Pretty amazing premise that is apparently a remake of an older international film.

Right off the bat Plemons and Stone are amazing. The performance of both of them has you going back and forth actually wondering if she is an alien. It would be easy to completely discount Teddy as an internet-addled conspiracy theorist, but he is smart and persuasive and completely sympathetic. My one main criticism is that we get some of his backstory, seeing the "trauma" that led to this event, and I think that could have been inferred instead of shown. However, those scenes are done very artistically, interludes that give this movie some artistic flair.

I love how this movie feels perfect for a time like now, when our minds are addled by everything we see online, and conspiracy can quickly lead to entire movements of misinformation. There are crazy internet theories I 90% believe based on nothing but hearsay, but I have strong conviction in them! Again I think Plemons is fantastic at making you care about this guy, and as things escalate you are still kind of on his side. There is a lot of nuance and humour, even though the first thing you see from him is him convincing his cousin Don that they should chemically castrate themselves. Aside from the online aspects, this is clearly a class thing, rich vs poor and how the inequality and unfairness of the world can be incomprehensible, so the only logical answer for some is to dive into conspiracy. Poignant and heartbreaking, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Don is autistic, played by an autistic actor in his first ever role! I heard an interview after the movie where Yorgos talked about working with him and it was amazing, reminded me a bit of how I initially imagined coaching Special Olympics athletes and how that has changed over my time with them. When we talk about inclusion and representation this is exactly where it shines. A specific role for a specific actor that is an essential part of the story. These is a movie with basically 3 characters, and he goes toe-to-toe with 2 absolute superstars.

This is a movie that actually has me wanting to watch it again, days after seeing it the first time, and that's pretty rare. I really loved the experience of seeing it in theatres, emerging onto the street in a daze afterwards. The bars around the theatre were overflowing with people in Halloween costumes, game 7 of the World Series on every screen, and I felt like shouting that everyone should drop what they were doing and watch this movie. It's a tight, well executed roller coaster ride, and I really hope it gets a lot of shine come awards season. If not I will be its torch bearer. Easily my favourite Lanthimos, Emma Stone is on a heater with this and The Curse (lots in common between both characters), and Plemons is always special to me.

A final note just for the other WeView contributors, I have seen this compared a ton to Eddington! Not just in theme, but in timeliness, commenting on how the world feels at this very moment, with a healthy dose of despair and skepticism. I haven't seen that one yet and really want to, but I know it was a hit here, so you should go check it out!