Bugonia (2025)

Entertaining but ultimately unserious film that threatened to wander lost and adrift multiple times and would have, if not anchored by Emma Stone’s mesmerizing performance. Emma is truly one the most committed thespians of our time and we are lucky how prolific she is. I do wonder if her partnership with Lanthimos has run its course. 

Like any good director with ambition, Lanthimos is expanding the scope of his work. The film touches on logic and persuasion, class, conspiracy, environmental justice, and a tad bit of nihilism, but there is not much depth to any of the subjects discussed. The ending betrayed the same kind of condescension seen in Don’t Look Up. His movies have always been larger than life, but this ever-expanding scope is causing him to lose focus. He can get away with this because Emma Stone is here, which is why I think a pause in their working relationship might benefit them both. 

At the end of the day this is still a perfectly engaging and at times very funny movie created by two of the most daring artists working today. I had high expectations for these reasons and not all of them were met, but I still encourage everyone to see it. If nothing else, you’ll have fun.