This post contains spoilers.
Absurd. Unsettling. Just plain weird. These are just some of the words that I would use to describe the filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos. Bugonia is no exception to this ongoing theme.
Conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemmons) and his cousin Don (Aidan Elbis) kidnap the CEO of the Auxolith pharmaceutical corporation, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone). Teddy is convinced that she is an Andromedan- a species of alien sent to destroy humanity- and he drags Don into his wild fantasies. Though the beliefs held by Teddy and Don are laughable, they are also earnest. This is what makes them so dangerous and what leads to some of the film’s more gut-churning moments. Violence and cruelty are handed out in abundance as a supposed “greater good”. Teddy cannot recognize that his commitment to saving humanity is the very thing that destroys his own. Other people become a means to an end that Teddy can justify as a part of the cost of building a better safer future, void of alien interference. As Michelle attempts to escape captivity, Teddy and Don unravel.
Lanthimos crafts a tale that seemingly warns of the dangers of internet indoctrination and the echo chambers created by like-minded people in an ever increasingly online world. This message holds strong throughout most of the film, though the twist at the end essentially negates any messaging about the “paranoia” Teddy faced, as he has been right about Michelle’s status as an Andromedan all along. This changes a lot about the film. The people that Teddy kidnapped and killed that came before Michelle were, for the most part, human. Teddy’s experiments had an egregious cost of human life. The film then becomes about the meaning of humanity. What is humanity? Is Teddy’s violence and evil the reality of human nature?
Though I have some criticisms about the plot twist, it certainly feeds into the style of surrealism and absurdity that is synonymous with Lanthimos’ work. I was initially a little adverse to the ending. I finished the movie thinking “that was ridiculous”- but is that not the point? Yes, it is ridiculous that a megacorporation CEO has (not so) secretly been an alien the whole time. But then, Teddy is ridiculous for believing it, and for his subsequent actions after his belief was formed. At the end of the day, what else did I expect from a Yorgos Lanthimos film? His unique style and use of a dark and twisted kind of humor made this film a very enjoyable and though provoking watch. It is beautifully shot and has incredibly convincing world building and attention to detail.
Bugonia is the kind of film that is about a lot of different things that can change its meaning depending on who is interpreting it. It is about right and wrong, and family loyalty. It questions what it means to be human and to do good things. In a lot of ways, it’s about love. It successfully built tension and suspense and managed to surprise and shock me several times. Whether you like Lanthimos’ work or not, there’s something for every viewer to take away from this film.
