Movie 'Bugonia' Review: You are an alien. — Basements, kidnapping, and messy hair. Lanthimos's abnormal world, where we are toyed with by 'those eyes' of Emma Stone.
“When I woke up, my face was slathered in cream.”
Let me talk about the movie 'Bugonia,' which begins with that worst-case scenario.
The setting is the damp, eerie basement that is a staple of American cinema.
In front of me is a man with messy hair who looks like he hasn't washed it in ages.
The audience's common sense—that this is just a kidnapping for ransom—is shattered by a single phrase uttered by the perpetrator.
“You are an alien. I know it.”
…Huh?
Through Emma Stone's 'large eyes,' we are dragged into an outrageous labyrinth by this wild turn of events.
Basements in American movies are always the worst
When I woke up, my face was slathered in cream, and I couldn't move a muscle.
In front of me were a pair of men: an age-unknown man with messy hair who looked like he hadn't washed it in ages (Jesse Plemons) and his chubby sidekick, Casey (Stavros Halkias).
It's a nightmare scenario that makes me feel sick just imagining it. Basements in American movies are all truly hopeless. If they're going to be rooms where people get locked up like that, I definitely don't want a basement in my house.
The 'alien' remark that breaks the rules of kidnapping
The person kidnapped is Michelle (Emma Stone), the charismatic CEO of a pharmaceutical company.
Normally, one would assume the motive is money, and she likely thinks so too. But this is where director Yorgos Lanthimos's brilliance comes in. The story takes an unexpected turn.
Teddy, the older brother of the kidnapping duo, says this:
“You are an alien. I know it.”
…Huh? This flow is crazy, isn't it?
This film is a remake of the Korean cult movie 'Save the Green Planet!', but as expected of director Lanthimos, it has been repainted with an unsettling and surreal atmosphere that refuses to be ordinary.
Made to doubt by Emma Stone's 'large eyes'
When Teddy makes this wild statement, look at those large eyes of Emma Stone.
Seeing her eyes widen in surprise, for a moment, even I was almost made to doubt, 'Wait, is this CEO actually an alien?'
The feeling of being sucked into those eyes. That ability to 'shake the audience's common sense' is truly masterful.
Conclusion: It's the worst, but I can't look away
An eerie basement, a man with messy hair, and the word 'alien.'
Even though it's a situation that clearly doesn't feel good, for some reason, I can't look away. It was an incredible cinematic experience where the power of Emma Stone's eyes and Lanthimos's insane sense collide.