The plot is simple on paper. Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap Michelle Fuller, a powerful CEO of a big pharma company, because they are convinced she is an alien planning to destroy Earth. Emma Stone plays the CEO, Jesse Plemons plays the main kidnapper, Teddy, and the story takes place mostly inside their twisted hostage situation.
It sounds wild. It should work. For me, it does not.
You can see the money on the screen. The movie looks beautiful. It was shot on 35mm VistaVision with bold, bright colors and very controlled compositions; it is easily one of Lanthimos’s most expensive films to date. The sets, costumes, and lighting are all carefully designed. There are shots that could live in a museum. On a visual level, no complaints.
The problem is everything around that.
The pacing is slow and heavy. Scenes stretch on long after they have made their point. The dialogue has that stiff, mannered style Lanthimos loves, but here it often feels like people talking in circles just to sound strange. The film keeps pausing as if it is waiting for us to gasp at how deep it is, and instead, you start checking the time.
Emma Stone commits fully. She shaved her head for the role, and she plays Michelle as a mix of corporate shark, victim, and something more ambiguous. Jesse Plemons is excellent as usual, twitchy and intense, and a lot of critics have praised both of them. I agree that the performances are strong. That still did not make the movie work for me. It felt like watching great actors trapped inside an experiment.
This is my main issue. Earlier Lanthimos films like The Favourite and Poor Things were strange but alive. They were mean, funny, and emotional at the same time. Bugonia feels like a version of his style that has been polished and drained. All the familiar ingredients are here: the deadpan delivery, the cruelty, the absurd humor, the stylised violence, but instead of feeling fresh, it feels like a self-remix.
Critics are divided, too, which makes me feel slightly less crazy. Some outlets call it gripping and topical and love the duel between Stone and Plemons. Others say it is mid-tier Lanthimos, impressive but indulgent, and admit that it is not his best work. There are already think pieces about how it will be an awards favorite that a lot of people secretly do not enjoy.
That is exactly how it feels. It is a film you are supposed to admire more than actually like. You can respect the craft and still walk out a bit empty.
I also think we have reached a point where people confuse “I did not understand this” with “this must be brilliant.” Bugonia is not hard to follow; the story is clear enough. It is just not very fun to sit through. Long scenes of torment and ideology and arguing, all wrapped in expensive visuals, start to feel like homework.
I like weird cinema. I like directors who take big swings. This just felt like a swing at the same idea over and over.
So yes, I know the film will have its defenders. It already does. And if you loved it, that is fine. For me, Bugonia is beautiful, ambitious and well acted, but also cold, repetitive and kind of lifeless. It is the first Lanthimos movie where I felt more like a museum visitor than an audience member.
Maybe that is the point. Or maybe it is okay to admit that sometimes an “auteur movie” is just not that good.