Director Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone team up for the fourth time, and the third in the last three years, for this remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! Stone plays Michelle Fuller, the heartless CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, who is kidnapped by cousins, and conspiracy theorists, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis). They take that drastic action because they are convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying the planet.
I have never really got onboard with the love people have for Lanthimos’ work, and Bugonia does not change my mind. Moment to moment, until the awful last 10 minutes, it held my attention. There were some amusingly absurd parts and Fuller’s identity kept me guessing for most of it. As usual Stone was excellent, especially in one scene when she was explaining how her staff can leave “early” at 5.30pm whilst making it clear that she would not approve of it. Plemons is also outstanding as the unhinged kidnapper.
However, as a critique of both people who get swept up in conspiracy theories and of the wilful destruction of the planet by the human race it is incredibly heavy handed. The points are made early and hammered home numerous times afterwards, particularly during the painfully overlong depiction of the effects of Fuller’s actions at the film’s close. At the same time, a subplot about Teddy’s Mum’s illness is under explored making it feel like an afterthought. She is played by Alicia Silverstone, and it is a shame that she features so briefly, though she does have the funniest line.
So, this is better than the offensive Poor Things, but it still left me a little cold.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10