Since his arrival as part of the modern wave of Greek filmmakers, Yorgos Lanthimos’ move to English-language films has been seamless. Working with recognisable actors and making films for more commercial markets, he remains faithful to his unique approach.
Characters speak in monotone voices, there is jet-black comedy with odd characters and behaviours, an uncanny version of reality and the clinical, objective directing style emphasises the uneasiness he wishes to evoke. The Lobster (2015 ) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017 ) are great examples of this.
The Favourite (2018 ) and Poor Things (2023 ) cemented Lanthimos as a more versatile director with a wide range of interests. Kinds of Kindness (2024 ) and now, Bugonia both feel like a return to the cynical explorations of modern society and people which put him on the map.
Teddy (Jesse Plemons ) and Don (Aidan Delbis ) are cousins living together in an isolated rural house. The cousins, inspired by Teddy’s paranoid beliefs, kidnap Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone ), the CEO of Auxolith, a large pharmaceutical company. Teddy believes that Michelle is a secret alien, responsible for much of the world’s problems and successfully convinces his skeptical, neurodivergent cousin Don to follow his lead.
Bugonia was my main prospect for the Venice film festival back in August and I regrettably missed it by one day. One of the few filmmakers who delivers with each film, Lanthimos has reached that rarefied tier where a new release is an event. I do not think Bugonia is one of his best, but that is hardly a criticism. He has set such a high bar with how he absorbs you into a particular tone and atmosphere and creates compellingly eccentric and morally ambiguous characters.
This is a riveting head to head between two excellent actors. Plemons and Stone give such intense and believable performances that they make two characters who might seem two-dimensional on the page, much more layered and difficult to decipher. The viewer’s allegiance is regularly questioned throughout.
The concept sounds ridiculous, but I think it is the familiar real-world setting which Lanthimos captures so vividly, and the tactile and visceral scenes of brutality, that really affected me. At one point, a character is subjected to torture off-screen, and all you hear is an uninterrupted moaning sound. The anguish and suffering evoked in this moment really hit me, and I was silently begging for the torture to end.
This is probably the most confined of Lanthimos’ English-language films in terms of setting. Despite this, the momentum rarely wanes. One reason is because the frame is never dull.
There are unnerving close-ups of Michelle’s shaved head lathered in cream as well as Teddy’s sweaty, unkempt appearance – having frank discussions about alien motherships and contacting alien emperors. Most films would struggle to make this dialogue work, but the performances are so intricate and expressive, and character designs so eye-catching, that you cannot look away.
The film as a whole, admirably lives up to its premise’s wackiness. There are sharp, unexpected narrative turns, and surprising, character-deepening moments that distinguishes it. Fortunately, like previous films The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Bugonia operates outside convention.
It is both a timely commentary on social divides and the resentment that lies therein, and a potent thriller. It defies expectations. This story takes swings with how it unfolds, and may provoke a polarised response.
While some sequences feel overlong, dialogue-heavy or just misjudged, this is an impeccably constructed, masterfully acted and provocative film that reasserts Lanthimos’ singular talent.
4 / 5 Stars – Playing in Galway cinemas now.
