Bugonia tells the story of two men who kidnap a CEO because they are convinced she is an alien. You never know what to expect from a Yorgos Lanthimos film, and this one is no different.

Bugonia is my favorite Yorgos Lanthimos film. I’ve reviewed The Lobster, The Favorite, and Poor Things. I liked Bugonia because the strange weirdness of it felt so real, right up until the surprise ending. Lanthimos films make strong points in unusual ways.

Bugonia’s thematic elements deal with conspiracy theories, mental health, and the human habit of destroying the planet that sustains us.

Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) share a house in the country where they grew up with Teddy’s mother. Don appears to be a a
person with an intellectual disability. Teddy is a veritable encyclopedia of conspiracy theories about how and why the bees are dying, the earth is in danger, and what happened to his mother at the hands of a corporation run by Michelle (Emma Stone).

Teddy believes Michelle is an alien from Andromeda. He convinces Don of his ideas and they kidnap Michelle and chain her in the basement of their remote farmhouse. They shaved her head because her GPS was her hair. They want her to take them to talk to the Emperor of Andromeda in a couple of days when there’s a lunar eclipse and the mothership will be close by. Teddy plans to convince the Emperor to save the earth.

Nothing in this plot is what it seems. You have to expect that with Lanthimos. The one thing you can reliably count on is terrific performances from the three main characters. Marvelous performances.

One thing that stood out to me in the film was the level of discourse. Michelle and Teddy threw out vocabulary in arguments and counter arguments that demonstrated high level thinking from them both. Part of the charm of this was that you are sure Teddy is brainwashed by the internet, but his grasp of what he’s talking about is so deep.

It isn’t a big cast. Alicia Silverstone plays Teddy’s mother but she never has any lines. Stavros Halkias is a local sheriff who did something bad years ago when he was babysitting Teddy. He keeps showing up at inconvenient times.

The film is on streamers now for a rental fee. You can see it on Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, and Google Play. Starting December 26, it will be streaming on Peacock without any additional fees.

Have you watched it? What did you think?