Bugonia is carried by two powerhouse performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. She’s a pharmaceutical CEO whose fierce negotiating skills are put to the ultimate test. He’s a conspiracy nut who’s too much of a loner for Scientology. Plemons’ Teddy is convinced that Stone’s Michelle is an alien. Ironically, neither comes off as human. One is so composed and no-nonsense that you’d assume business school has sucked the humanity out of her. The other has spent so much time online that he’s become detached from the rest of humanity. Even if his theory turns out to be correct, there isn’t a rational thought left in his head.
Michelle wakes up in Teddy’s basement with her head shaven and her body covered in lotion. Teddy and his developmentally disabled cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) retrain Michelle, insisting that she contact her mothership. Even the most strong-willed individuals would likely scream, cry, or beg under these circumstances. Michelle goes straight into negotiations, acting less like she’s been taken hostage and more like she’s trying to salvage a deal gone south. There’s little reasoning with Teddy, who’s convinced that Michelle must make contact within the next four days before a lunar eclipse. Don is starting to have his doubts.
Stone and Plemons reteam with director Yorgos Lanthimos, rounding out this beautifully unholy trinity. While more scaled down than his previous few films, Lanthimos creates a claustrophobic atmosphere as if the walls of sanity are closing in against a ticking clock. The basement is Wonderland, and the only way out is by giving into the madness. Stone is perhaps the only actress who could emerge as a voice of reason while still speaking a lunatic’s language, finding the ideal balance. Plemons is also perfectly-tailored to play a wild card without going too over-the-top.
This battle of wills is fueled by a killer screenplay from Will Tracy. Although based on Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 film, Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia is told in Tracy’s voice. It calls to mind Tracy’s past work on The Menu, an “eat the rich” satire that still managed to garner some sympathy for its wealthy victims. Naturally, we root for Michelle to get away from Teddy. At the same time, Michelle is no angel, living in an ivory tower while Teddy’s mother (Alicia Silverstone) lies in a hospital bed, comatose due to her experimental drugs. Michelle tried to make it go away with money and a carefully-written speech, but there’s little, if any, sincerity in her voice. Whether or not she’s an alien, Teddy sees right through her.
Bugonia is an uproarious, heart-pounding, and wicked exploration of a species’ sad decline. It builds to an ending that’s either the cherry on top or an unnecessary addition. Honestly, I may need to see the film another time to decide. While a part of me wishes that the film ended five minutes earlier, the final moments do stress the message beneath the film’s surface. It doesn’t matter if Teddy is right or wrong. What matters are the extreme measures that he takes to find the proof. If one human being is capable of doing this, does it just reflect who he is or what we’re all capable of? If it’s the latter, perhaps we have stopped evolving and are working our way backward.