Bugonia (2025) Review
Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, Bugonia has dropped in theaters. I was able to see it yesterday. What did I think about it? Is it better than Yorgos’ other films? Let’s talk about it!
The Review
Right out of the gate, I think Bugonia is a very interesting film that has a lot to say about humanity and life. But Yorgos doesn’t make movies that are tailored made for me. He’s a bit too artsy for my liking. Poor Things is a film that had a lot of interesting ideas, there was a lot in there that I enjoyed but overall the types of films he makes and the ideas he’s exploring aren’t really one that I can connect with. It’s gorgeous to look at with great performances, but is very much just a one time watch for me. Everything I just said about Poor Things you can apply to Bugonia. There’s interesting ideas about humanity and life, the performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are fantastic but overall it’s a film that I can respect and appreciate more than I actually enjoy it. I watched this film with a friend of mine who’s a much bigger Yorgos Lanthimos fan than I am. He loved the movie a lot more than I did (I didn’t hate the movie, but he really enjoyed it. I think fans of Yorgos Lantimos are really going to like this film but I think normies and people that don’t typically like Yorgos’ films aren’t going to love this film.
One of the things I find interesting about Yorgos’ films is that he makes films that talk about humanity and life. Poor Things told these ideas through this coming of age story. Bugonia is exploring life through the perspective of a possible alien invasion and conspiracy theorists and I find that interesting. I don’t wanna spoil anything about the film’s ending, but with where it ends it says a lot about humanity and what’s best for the world. The friend I was with liked the ending and thought it had relevant ideas to today’s society. I should probably say this, but Poor Things and Bugonia are the only Lanthimos films that I’ve seen. I’m not sure if his other films explore ideas about humanity and life but it’s one of the aspects that I appreciate and respect about his films the most. When we’re living in a world where society is in such a weird place because of politics and seeing the perspective of humanity through this visionary storyteller that’s so quirky and different makes Yorgos one of the more interesting directors working today.
And the performances, mainly Jesse Plemmons and Emma Stone are fantastic. A lot of people have been talking about awards nominations for the two of them. I’m not super familiar with Jesse Plemmons, I haven’t seen Breaking Bad or Game Night. Of the films I have seen him in, he’s proven that he’s a great actor. I still think Civil War is his best performance, but he’s great in this film. The dialogue and dynamic between him and Stone is great. The most interesting and engaging scenes of the film were the scenes of Plemons interrogating Stone about what’s going on and whether she is or isn’t an alien. It’s not surprising that Emma Stone turned in a great performance because she’s never turned in a bad performance. I don’t know if I’d say this is her best performance but it’s a really solid performance that requires a lot out of her. It’s also not a super interesting role for her considering this is her fourth collaboration with Yorgos since 2018. So we know what to expect from an Emma Stone performance in a Yorgos Lanthimos film, but it’s still a great performance that has a lot to offer and continues to remind you that she’s one of the best actresses of her generation.
Another aspect to talk about here is the ending. This seems to be the aspect of the film that people are talking about the most and I think will polarize people the most. For me, I thought the film had some very nice and interesting things to say about humanity and life. The ending of the film provides the thesis for the film and note that Yorgos wants to leave the film on for audiences. I wish it was more subtle and more ambiguous. It’s not like I hated the ending or the ending ruined the entire film for me, no that’s not the case at all. But it got so heavy handed in the final moments and it felt like the film would’ve been more interesting and more thought provoking afterwards had the film been more ambiguous with how it left things. I don’t know how he would’ve done that but I think there’s a version where the ending could’ve been stronger if it wasn’t so heavy handed. There’s aspects of Poor Things that I think even struggle with that. I feel like in Yorgos’ future movie he needs to be a bit more subtle and ambiguous about how he portrays certain messages.
Finally, the film is only 2 hours long but even at a fairly short runtime it still felt too long. There’s a version of the film that I think could’ve been 15-20 minutes longer and probably would’ve been better. There’s a few too many scenes in the middle of the film that feel repetitive, where it’s Jesse Plemons interrogating Emma Stone about being an alien and then the third guy is uncomfortable about it. The film can repeat that notion and that idea I think a few too many times. If they could’ve combined those scenes or found a way to cut some of them out I think the film would’ve flown better. Going back to what I said earlier, I think the film’s ending goes on for a bit too long. It does this montage showing the outcome of the characters’ decisions but I think they could’ve done that scene in 30 seconds and not the several minutes that it goes on for.
Final Thoughts: Bugonia is a very interesting film that’s in line with Yorgos Lanthimos’ other films. I mean that it’s a film that I can appreciate and respect what they were going for but overall I left it not knowing what to think of it. I think I prefer Bugonia to Poor Things but it’s not a movie that I’m going to rewatch a whole lot. If you’re a Yorgos Lanthimos fan, then you’ll probably enjoy this film more than I did.
The Score: 8.0/10 (B-)
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