Bugonia Parent Guide

Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) and his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) are as close as cousins can be, with Don following Teddy’s lead. Lately, Teddy has been digging into a grand conspiracy about a species of aliens bent on controlling humanity, distracting and enslaving them with agents built to look just like us. He’s decided that it’s time to act. To that end, he and Don abduct pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) so they can force her to communicate with her mothership and broker a peace treaty. Michelle doesn’t seem aware of these “Andromedans” – but Teddy knows better than to trust the enemy, even one in disguise.

While the performances from the cast are remarkable, and the cinematography striking, I felt pretty let down by the film. It tends to mention its themes rather than explore them in any depth, which leaves you feeling that the movie didn’t really understand the significant aspects of its own story. The music is also deliberately jarring, feeling intrusive more than supportive.

There are other reasons this production doesn’t qualify as family entertainment - but can you really be surprised by that? Yorgos Lanthimos is the man who directed Poor Things, so you could have anticipated a few content concerns in any other production directed by him. To be fair, Bugonia is considerably less graphic and markedly less sexual than the other Yanthimos movies I’ve seen. There’s still plenty of bloody violence, a scene of torture, heaps of cussing, and of course, a little bit of nudity. But only a little bit. It’s downright restrained.

Lanthimos isn’t what you might call a mainstream director – he has a well-earned reputation for making movies very differently than most people, for better or worse, and that distance from conventional storytelling means he has a niche audience. I expect his fans will enjoy this strange little misadventure, but I don’t believe the general public will be as welcoming. I was happy to go along for the ride, but the lack of development in the writing and, I’m sorry to say, a very predictable ending left me a little flat on the film as a whole. Thankfully, Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Aidan Delbis are nearly captivating enough on their own to compensate. Nearly.

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.