Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos reteamed for yet another modern classic. I haven’t seen Kinds of Kindness yet, but with The Favourite, Poor Things, and now Bugonia, they have cemented their place among the greatest actor-director combos of the 21st century. While I still think Poor Things is my favorite of the bunch, this is an awful close second. It’s an unpredictable, audacious, and outrageous jolt of cinematic insanity.
Stone stars as a CEO who is targeted by a crazy beekeeper (Jesse Plemons) and his autistic cousin (Aidan Delbis) who kidnap her and lock her up in their basement. Thinking she’s an alien, they shave off her head and cover her head to toe in lotion because… uh… reasons. Then they demand to be taken to her mothership. It doesn’t take long for Emma to realize she’s in deep shit as she must try to figure a way to outwit her captors.
Part of the fun of Bugonia is the way Lanthimos slowly reveals just how nuts Plemons is. Plemons is excellent as he plays his character as a sad and broken man, but he’s often hilarious and proves once again that he has some terrific comic timing. (Although anyone who saw Game Night could’ve already told you that.) Delbis is also ten pounds of hilarity in a five-pound bag as his reactions to the insanity around him (which are often only a word or two) gets some of the biggest laughs of the movie.
Bugonia belongs to Stone though. She once again proves to be one of the most fearless actresses of her generation. She gives a command performance and the way she refuses to back down to her captors will have you cheering. Even when the movie Goes There®, she continues to kick all kinds of thespian ass. The totally bonkers ending will leave you shaking your head and doubting your sanity.
In short, this is a special movie. Probably the best of the year. I’ve got to get on Kinds of Kindness ASAP.
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