Bugonia
You’ll have to stop the world just to stop the feeling
2025 appears to be the year where filmmakers delve into the heavy-hitting topics, reflecting real world issues and real-world conspiracies in increasingly overt ways. First, Ari Aster held up a mirror to the world with his film Eddington, now it’s Yorgos Lanthimos’ turn to take a very real, very intense subject matter and shock you to your core.
Bugonia follows two men – Teddy (Jesse Plemmons) & Don (Aidan Delbis) who are hell-bent on kidnapping the CEO of a major company – Michelle (Emma Stone) - when they convince themselves that she is not human, but an alien sent to Earth to destroy its inhabitants. The film eases you in by intercutting Teddy & Don’s humble life in their shabby home, meanwhile Michelle goes about her day in her multi-million-dollar mansion before making her way to her incredibly high paying job. When she gets home from said job Teddy & Don carry out their mission to kidnap her and they begin their quest to get to the bottom of their conspiracy.
In true Lanthimos fashion, this film is the blackest of comedies. I was laughing one minute, and stone faced the next, and most laughs were more a reaction to the shock value than the actual comedy. Bugonia reflects real life conspiracy theorists in a way that I’ve not quite seen before. It shows their causal nature of being brainwashed by podcasts and clearly unchecked online sources. At the beginning, I almost felt sorry for Teddy & Don, they are victims of capitalism and are simply trying to bring down that very system that destroyed their lives. I had their back until events took a very, very dark turn.
On the flip side, there becomes a point where I started to empathise with Michelle – after rooting against her at first. At the end of the day, she is a woman who has been kidnapped and tortured by two men. After the film finished, I was racking my brain trying to work out how I felt towards each character, which is when I concluded that everyone in this film is easy, and I’m not sure you are meant to back anyone. It’s one of those rare occurrences where all characters are flawed, and that’s the point. We are meant to be filled with increasing anxiety by what these characters are inflicting upon each other, so that when we reach the final climax, that anxiety is all encompassing. I’m genuinely unsure I’ve felt so much dread after a film concluded – at least this year alone.
I overheard many other guests leaving the cinema discussing the reveal of whether Michelle really is an alien or not. To me, this is not the message we should be taking from the film. We should dig deeper and assess our place in the modern world. In most cases, you’ll find we are much like worker bees; easily controlled.
Bugonia showcases anger. Anger at the system that has made our world such a difficult place to live in. One where billionaires live long, comfortable lives and the working class are corporate slaves until the day they die. Lanthimos send a very clear message that the world we currently live in is feeble and on the verge of collapse. In the words of the final needle drop of the film, “when will they learn?”
Bugonia is in Australian cinemas tomorrow, October 30 2025!
