“Emma Stone’s New Film, Bugonia, Looks Intense – Here’s My Honest Review”
Surrealist director Yorgos Lanthimos is back again with a new film coming out this year, and is once again teaming up with frequent collaborator Emma Stone (Poor Things). Bugonia stars Stone opposite Jesse Plemons (who also starred in Lanthimos’ last film Kinds Of Kindness) and follows two young men who kidnap a rich and powerful CEO, who they claim is secretly an alien who wants to destroy Earth. Intrigued? Here’s everything we know so far.
What is Bugonia about?
The film is in fact a remake of a South Korean sci-fi comedy called Save The Green Planet!, and has been in development for several years. The plot revolves around two men who are both conspiracy theory-obsessed: Teddy (Plemons), who works as a beekeeper, and Don (Aidan Delbis). Their infatuation with all things conspiracy-minded leads them to target a prominent CEO who comes into their sights: Michelle, played by Stone, who runs a large pharmaceutical company. As they set their plan to kidnap her in motion, things unsurprisingly get complicated.
The two wannabe kidnappers are convinced that Michelle is, in fact, an alien posing as a human, with plans to destroy the entire Earth. Surely their idea is crazy- but given the film is described as a sci-fi film, it may be that there’s more than meets the eye. In the film’s enigmatic first teaser trailer, which doesn’t give much more away, we hear Teddy’s narration as he draws parallels between bees and Michelle as a CEO: “The workers gather pollen for the queen. But the bees, they’re dying, that’s the way they planned it.” As he declares that he and his accomplice now control things, we’re treated to a montage of shots of the two carrying out their kidnapping. The cinematography looks as visually stunning as you’d expect, and the trailer ends with Michelle collapsing on a lawn.
What else do we know, and is there a release date?
The film’s script is being written by Will Tracy, whose previous work includes Succession and the satirical comedy The Menu. It’s also set to star Alicia Silverstone (Y2K) and Stavros Halkias (Tires). Bugonia premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and will have its UK release on 31st October.
