No one can ever accuse Yorgos Lanthimos of playing it safe.
Directed by Lanthimos, Bugonia tells the story of Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), a high-powered CEO who likes her life in order. However, her world is upended by Teddy and Don (Jesse Plemons and Aiden Delbis), two incompetent young men who believe Fuller is responsible for their greatest pain. After kidnapping her from her driveway, the two bring her home and chain her up in the basement in order to gain a confession from her. However, the confession has nothing to do with the past. Instead, it stems from their belief that Fuller is really an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
With Bugonia, Lanthimos takes the viewer on a wild ride that almost feels like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. Featuring conspiracy theories and accusations of alien invasions, the film fully leans into the most bizarre responses to human suffering as characters attempt to work out their past trauma with varying grips on reality. Yet, even amidst the most outlandish of circumstances, Lanthimos never lets his characters lose their humanity. No matter how disconnected from reality they may be, they are given the chance to defend themselves and, potentially, change. Whether or not that’s possible is another issue entirely.
Having partnered with Stone in The Favourite, Kinds of Kindness and her Oscar-winning role in Poor Things, it’s clear that she has become Lanthimos’ muse. And, actually, this is the best-case scenario for him and his work. Over the years, Stone has established herself as one of the best talents of her generation. Able to dissolve herself into every role, she has the ability to make even the wildest of characters both believable and empathetic. (And, in any of his projects, Yorgos needs a healthy dose of believable from his performers.)
Here, Stone’s performance isn’t required to be as endearingly outlandish as her Oscar-winning work in Poor Things required of her. However, there’s a great deal of focus in her facial expressions. Set against the increasing madness of Plemon’s Teddy, there’s a fire in her eyes anytime she’s on camera. Held captive in Teddy’s basement, she does a wonderful job walking the fine line between powerless victim and empowered soul. Despite the fact that she remains bound by chains, Stone remains furiously defiant. She confidently knows who she is and never feels outmatched by her captors, which can be challenging to portray when you’re the victim.
That is, if she’s really the victim at all.
After all, in Bugonia, Lanthimos refuses to make the lines of good and evil clear for the viewer. Even amidst all their wrongdoing, the film never fully judges Teddy and Don for their actions. By giving the goofy kidnappers reasonable motivation, Lanthimos sits within the grey areas of right and wrong. Yes, these characters have broken the law. But does it matter if they have a good reason? Or that they’re repentant of their mistakes?
Credit must be given to Plemons and especially Delbis for delivering manic performances that still makes their characters empathetic. (This is especially true for Delbis who plays Don with such genuineness that one can’t help but feel for his personal struggles.) Together, the duo becomes a fascinating blend of hilarious, heartbreaking and heartless at various moments throughout the film.
And those moments of levity are necessary as Bugonia’s world remains bleak. Without giving spoilers to the finale, this is a world where everyone carries shame on their soul in one way or another. No matter which side of the law these characters are on, all of them have a dark side. And none of them feel like they’ve either truly atoned for the past or look to do evil in the future.
In short, this is a messy, messy world. And no one is innocent.
Lanthimos seems to believe in a world that has made the least of its opportunity to do good to others. Here, the human race is steeped in the shadows of the past, whether they’re for actions they’ve done or have had done to them. (For example, the film’s use of Noah’s flood narrative feels entirely unique yet appropriate, given Lanthimos’ apparent worldview.) Shame is prevalent and guilt abounds.
Nevertheless, for those willing to engage Lanthimos’ antics, Bugonia may be actually one of his mods accessible films in years. These are characters that, while we don’t fully understand them, he does allow us to relate to them. Even so, whenever you step into Lanthimos’ world, be aware that you really are entering another dimension.
Bugonia is available in theatres on Friday, October 24th, 2025.
