‘Bugonia’ Review: Jesse Plemons Gives a Masterful Performance in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Plea for Eco-Empathy [A-] Venice
Yorgos Lanthimos is back at the Lido with one of his most fascinating, multi-layered and daring films. In Bugonia, the subversive filmmaker manages to tackle topical material in a way that commands your attention for the entirety of the runtime, while expanding your responsibility as a viewer to not just watch – and surely enjoy – what’s going on, but also to ponder about the roles we can and should play as individuals and the tactics we resort to as an attempt to evade accountability.
Some may label Bugonia as an eco-film, particularly because it’s a remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save The Green Planet!, but it is much more than that. In fact, even eco-denialists, or those simply indifferent to the notion of protecting the planet and its species, will still find the film a spell-binding examination of class dynamics, the fine line between faith and delusion, the lack of empathy in a growingly selfish world that emphasizes individuality over collective interests and the price we pay to honor the choices we make – no matter how outrageous they may seem to be. This may seem to be a lot to include in a single film whose runtime does not exceed two hours, but Lanthimos and scriptwriter Will Tracy seamlessly weave all these threads in a manner that never feels forced nor preachy and the result is one of Lanthimos’ most brilliant and entertaining films to date.
Cousins Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) are living on the margin. They seem to have been forgotten, as if their lives no longer count. Teddy finds a higher purpose in a theory he so strongly has faith in and he faces no issues convincing Don to get on board. The two believe a high-powered CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is actually an alien on a mission to destroy the planet and deprive humanity from Earth’s natural resources. The two set off on a kidnap mission to force Fuller to halt her destructive plans, in hopes of securing a better future for the plant. As crazy as the mission sounds – two nobodies kidnapping a wealthy CEO from her own residence – the plan actually succeeds, resulting in a series of catastrophic consequences that shake the lives of the trio.
Bugonia may be a remake – with some key changes made that differentiates it from the original South Korean version – but it carries brand Lanthimos to the core: it is darkly funny, subversive, unpredictable, meaty and utterly compelling. Much like some of the filmmaker’s previous works, especially The Killing of The Sacred Deer, the film features tormented characters grappling with personal and moral dilemmas while having to rely on their wits to find a way out of perilous situations they’ve been entrapped in. And much like Sacred Deer, Lanthimos and co never seem content with the likeliest, easiest or most digestible routes. In every risk they take, the narrative grows bigger, bolder and more gripping, while never losing sight of the themes at hand.
This is perhaps why Bugonia sets itself apart from films that favor style over substance and in comparison to Lanthimos’ previous work, Poor Things, Bugonia is much less stylized, deceptively simpler on a visual level, but nevertheless thematically dense. And much like the entirety of the filmmaker’s works, Bugonia boasts masterful techs, particularly a chillingly effective score by Jerskin Fendrix, sharp editing by Yorgos Mavropsaridis and gorgeous cinematography by Robbie Ryan. But it’s the performances of the trio, especially Jesse Plemons, that really make Bugonia such a memorable and rewarding experience. Stone commands the screen with pitch-perfect delivery and excellent use of her unique skills as an actress who is able to make her characters compelling, believable and striking enough to leave a long-lasting impression no matter how quirky, crazy or wild they are. Delbis is equally heartbreaking and hilarious as Don, delivering a performance that should surely be remembered come awards time.
But the film belongs to Plemons, who delivers one heck of a performance. As Teddy, he masterfully shows us the character’s multiple facets: menacing, deranged, bruised, tormented and unforgiving. But most of all, Teddy has unwavering faith in a vision he wholeheartedly considers a reason of existence, and Plemons is able to sell us Teddy’s crazy theories, making us root for the character all the way through. The film’s most powerful scenes are those of Plemons as he latches on to the unbelievable and the unlikely.
It is a joy to watch Lanthimos and his incredible cast and crew aim high and succeed at every turn, reminding us of how rewarding it is to emotionally and intellectually invest in films that challenge us, provoke us and intentionally make us uncomfortable. Perhaps the reason why we are uncomfortable is exactly why films like Bugonia are a jolting contribution to today’s film landscape – they serve as urgent reminders for us to see and not just look, to explore what we may fear and doubt instead of enjoying the mundanity of our comfort zones.
Grade: A-
This review is from the 2025 Venice Film Festival where Bugonia had its world premiere. Focus Features will release the film theatrically in the New York and Los Angeles on October 31 and expanding wide on October 31.
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