Before I begin, I need to say that this movie will make you uncomfortable. It will not spoon feed you what it wishes to say, but instead show you and let you create your own opinion over it. It’s crude. It’s explicit. It’s critical. Sometimes it will be difficult and confusing; if that’s not your cup of tea, it’s ok. But if you like to be challenged and wish to see a movie that will leave you thinking for a while, ‘Bugonia’ is just what you’re looking for.
The story revolves around two men, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), who kidnap a well-known business woman (Emma Stone) under the belief that she is an alien from outer space whose motive is to destroy humanity.
Being a remake of the cult classic Korean film “Save the Green Planet!”, “Bugonia” manages to stay true to the original film while still giving the story its own spin. In “Bugonia” many of the characters’ genders and roles are switched, making some scenes seem more sadistic in nature. Apart from that, “Bugonia” also changes the ending, making it less explosive than the original. Despite all these changes, the movie still retains the main ideas and themes of the story, making it rightfully nominated for the Academy Awards under the category of Best Adapted Screenplay.
Throughout the entire film, the movie does a great job of incorporating tension throughout the story. Despite the plot already being quite suspenseful on its own, the feeling of unease is further increased by excellent acting and sound production. Whenever Michelle and Teddy argue with each other, you can truly feel the weight of every word they say to each other through Stone and Plemons’s acting. Though all actors did phenomenal performances,Stone has been nominated for Best Actress for her role as Michelle Fuller.
Even in the times when the characters are in silence, you can still feel the suffocating tension of the film. To top it all off, each scene is backed by Johnnie Burn’s phenomenal, award-nominated soundtrack which manages to increment each emotion shown on screen without taking too much attention away from the scene.
The immense detail put into the set and design of the film is truly amazing. Since the film mostly takes place inside Teddy’s house, the amount of details snuck into every inch of the house is truly unbelievable. From the stash of receipts filling the counters of his kitchen, to the tables filled with conspiracy magazines, every object in the house helps give us a better idea of who Teddy and Don are.
This is then contrasted with Michelle’s pristine office environment. Her home, a multimillion dollar mansion, is the definition of minimalistic. Unlike Teddy and Don’s home, Michelle’s house is clean and precise, showcasing her concise and to-the-point personality.
Apart from the design of the film, the overall cinematography is also absolutely stunning. Being filmed in a VistaVision camera, the movie’s shots have high clarity and depth, allowing for some beautiful takes that leave you breathless. This is especially clear in the multiple closeups used throughout the film which manage to capture every detail of that which is being shown. Besides closeups, cinematographer Robbie Ryan also incorporates multiple wide shots which allow you to admire the amount of details found in the setting.
All of these elements of production add up to showcase the message that Yorgos Lanthimos wishes to convey, and he does this in a spectacular manner. The entire movie is a call to action against the way we are currently living, criticizing the healthcare system and the immense corporate greed that fills it. It shows us how sometimes we end up being more inhumane than evil aliens from outer space.
Spoilers ahead.
Nevertheless, there is still one thing about the film that creates conflict over whether it was good overall: the ending. When I first watched the film, I was pretty stunned and confused. Throughout the entire movie, it is implied that Michelle, despite the fact that she as a person is not the most innocent, is not an alien. This makes Teddy’s continuous investigation seem extremely excessive and concerning. But then we learn that Michelle was actually an alien, making the whole message of the film a whole lot more confusing.
If Teddy had been right all along, then what was the meaning of the film? Would that mean that all his actions were justified and all the wrong in the world was simply caused by aliens who wished to destroy the world?
But in reality the film wished to state the exact opposite, even if Teddy was right that still doesn’t justify all the disgusting things he did to find that out. It doesn’t justify the way we are treating the environment. It simply lets us know how maybe the world would truly be better off if aliens destroyed all of humanity.
