Emma Stone and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos collaborated on one of the most controversial movies of 2023, “Poor Things.” It was outrageous and over-the-top, and it went on to receive five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Director. Stone won for Best Actress. “Poor Things” also won for makeup and hairstyling.
Stone and Lanthimos were a winning combination. They were big fans of each other’s work, and so it was no surprise that they decided to work together on another project.
The trailers for that movie, “Bugonia,” reflect the cinematic craziness that defined “Poor Things.” Stone was pulling out all the stops again with another intense performance under the direction of a fearless, foreign movie director famous for being unconstrained by convention and the status quo.
Lanthimos famously said that he loved to make audiences uncomfortable. That was certainly the case with “Poor Things” which was heavy on nudity, sex and strangeness. It was essentially the story of a female Frankenstein creature (played by Stone) embarking on a prolonged odyssey of self-discovery and sexual awakening. Lanthimos fans, movie critics and members of the Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences loved it. Everyone else seemed to hate it.
The question was: what might this duo do next and how much higher would they raise the bar in terms of shattering expectations and shocking audiences? The energized previews featured a bald-headed Stone being abducted by a couple of whack job guys who were convinced she was an extraterrestrial. It appeared to be equal parts comedy and drama, including a few flashes of bloody violence. Whatever it was, it admittedly looked edgy and interesting. But the jury was out.
“Bugonia” packs a lot of content into the script ranging from the plight of honeybees and their recent threat of extinction to the fear of an alien invasion and the subjugation or extinction of the human race.
As indicated in the trailers, Stone plays Michelle, a trendy, young pharmaceutical CEO. She’s attractive, rich and successful, and she’s the target of two loser cousins (brilliantly played by Jesse Plemons and Aiden Delbis). They are convinced that Michelle isn’t who she says she is. Their two-man conspiracy theory results in a plot to kidnap her and yes, force her to take them to her leader (it’s a great, tongue in cheek, sci-fi cliché, seemingly tossed in for laughs). By their calculations, they have just a few days before Michelle’s mothership arrives during a lunar eclipse.
The cousins are characters who could have escaped from Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” (1994) or any number of the Coen brothers’ movies. Their unkempt appearance is comical. In addition to that, they are not, as the expression goes, the sharpest knives in the drawer. Though they appear clueless and harmless, their behavior proves otherwise. They are willing to resort to just about anything to save mankind.
After hastily shaving Michelle’s head in the back of a getaway car in order to prevent her from communicating with her fellow aliens (as they firmly believe) they tie her up in the basement of their rural home to conduct intense interrogation that gradually unravels into heated exchanges and ever-increasing violence and torture.
Having a background in psychology, Michelle tries everything to calm the men down. When everything fails, she finally turns to them and offers up a confession that she is indeed an alien. It leaves the audience wondering if it’s a last-ditch effort to save her life or whether she might possibly be telling the truth, as insane as it seems. Lanthimos leaves you guessing.
As bizarre and preposterous as the story becomes, it never stops generating suspense. The cousins become increasingly frightening as the lunar eclipse approaches. As is often the case in thrillers like this, the female victim’s fate seems ominous with no possible way of survival or escape.
Watch: 'BUGONIA' - Official Trailer
Credit for the movie’s unnerving tension goes to both the director and star, who once again work magic together. It’s another powerful Oscar-worthy performance for Stone as well as another badass, bold film for Lanthimos. Also worth mentioning are Plemons and Delbis, who are remarkable in their supporting roles.
“Bugonia” bears little resemblance to “Poor Things.” Thankfully, Stone and Lanthimos aren’t serving up the same, shock appeal schtick. Instead, they chart a course in an entirely different narrative direction, fully trusting each other’s instincts and talent. It definitely works.
As you might expect, there is a big twist of an ending. Though you might think you know where the story is going, the movie still delivers a wallop of a climax you might not fully anticipate. In the end, the film beautifully comes full circle with a message that sticks in your head all the way home and possibly for the rest of your life.
DREW’S TAKE:
Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos prove that lightning can strike twice when a star and director perfectly complement each other and fearlessly take chances together.
“Bugonia” is as much a masterful suspense film as it is a bizarre science fiction story. Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos follow their Oscar-winning collaboration on the movie “Poor Things” with another show-stopper.
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