Despite being a remake of the South Korean black comedy Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia also answers the question of what would happen if Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of The Favourite and Poor Things, were hired to make an episode of Black Mirror. Not only because it features bees and Jesse Plemons, but mostly because it explores that series’ signature ideas such as how technology amplifies humanity’s worst traits, in this case delusion and ideology, and the paranoia and division that follow. While its reflection of modern society isn’t the most complex or revealing, nor is its thriller premise taken to especially clever places, Bugonia remains an entertaining film that balances dark humor, strong performances, and Lanthimos’s unmistakable style, even if minor when placed alongside the rest of the Greek director’s filmography.
The story pits Teddy (Jesse Plemons), a conspiracy-obsessed man and basement dweller who spends endless hours ranting on Reddit, against Michelle (Emma Stone), a corporate pharmaceutical CEO whose moral void is perfectly captured when, while recording a diversity training video for her company, she criticizes the script for being too focused on diversity. After contrasting their opposite lifestyles in an opening montage, the film quickly escalates as Teddy kidnaps Michelle with the help of his neurodivergent cousin Don in a hilarious physical struggle, by far the film’s funniest scene. Teddy shaves her head and locks her in his basement. The reason? He believes she is an alien infiltrating the human race and that her hair enables communication with her species. She, of course, finds it absurd and tries repeatedly to convince him she is human. From there, the film follows familiar kidnapping thriller beats such as escape attempts, moments when someone comes by the house and Michelle must stay silent, and the shifting dynamic between captor and captive.
Through its setup, the film examines how the anger and frustration of people like Teddy and Don stem from the hypocrisy and detachment of those at the top, like Michelle. It is an interesting concept, and the film does attempt to bring some complexity by exploring both sides, but it never goes particularly deep. In truth, Bugonia establishes most of its ideas in the opening montage that contrasts the two worlds and in its early exchanges. After that, repetition weighs down the tension, and the film never reaches true emotional or physical intensity. As its thriller elements grow repetitive, it falls to Plemons and Stone to keep the film engaging.
Thankfully, they are two of the best actors working today, and they are, of course, delightful to watch. There is real pleasure in seeing Plemons sell the conviction of his character’s absurd beliefs and in watching Stone navigate the madness, carefully choosing each word in the face of his paranoia. Both are also very funny, especially through the physicality of their performances. Still, neither role feels entirely new. Plemons’s performance recalls his Black Mirror work, while Stone channels elements of one of her Kind of Kindness characters. The cousin ends up being the story’s heart, but even that thread remains sadly underdeveloped and one dimensional.
Lanthimos’s style is as distinctive as ever, with precise framing, cool camera movements, and a grand and weird score, though its novelty is starting to wear thin. Unfortunately, many of the film’s best moments were already revealed in the trailer. At nearly two hours, Bugonia loses steam in its second half. Extended scenes with a police officer and repetitive stylized flashbacks feel long and add little. The premise would have fit neatly within Lanthimos’s previous film, the anthology Kind of Kindness, and might have worked better as one of its chapters or even as a one hour Black Mirror episode. By the time it reaches its predictable and underwhelming conclusion, it leaves the sense of potential not fully realized.