There has not been a man more deserving of a rest since God created the universe in six days than Yorgos Lathimos. The guy has quickly become one of Hollywood’s favorite auteurs and has managed to produce three pretty prominent films in the past three years. There’s of course the critically acclaimed and Oscar winning Poor Things in 2023, the seemingly quickly discarded anthology Kinds of Kindness in 2024, and finally, Bugonia in 2025. Time to take a break, man. You’ve earned it. Let Emma Stone go home to her husband and kid now.

Lathimos’ films are always a little out there, often blending the darker sides of the human psyche with absurdist, weirdo comedy. There’s a lot of consistency in the themes of his work, toying with the idea of power and control as a means to influence others. And Bugonia is no different, so the good news is we’ve got another vintage Lathimos film, and the bad news is we’ve got another vintage Lathimos film.

Bugonia is certainly a fun, incredibly depressing time, something we’d be shocked to find absent in one of Lathimos’ films. He offers a solid, timely character study that delves into the minds of the oppressed and oppressor, analyzing what makes them do the things they do and believe the things they believe. To perhaps no one’s surprise, he manages to direct all of his stars profoundly well, with each member of the tiny cast managing to shine in different ways. So, as a movie, it’s pretty damn good, but as a message or a satire…well, that’s where I think it falls a bit flat. The overarching idea gets pretty muddled as the film goes on, and by the time the credits roll, you’re not entirely sure about the bigger message Lathimos proposes. The film shines when its spotlight is on the individual, but stumbles over its words when forced to take a step back and look at the world. It kind of feels like Lathimos didn’t really have anything interesting to add to the conversation, but at least he made this thing as tight and as buzzing as he possibly could. 

So after being known as that guy who elevates movies while only being in them for a few minutes, Jesse Plemons finally gets some time to shine in what might just be his best role yet. He plays Teddy, a conspiracy-theory obsessed man whose constant strings of tragedy in his life have driven him to make a grave decision in order to, in his mind, save the human race. This is the type of character that I think can be very difficult to strike the right balance with. He believes seemingly ridiculous things about the world and how it works, but there’s still a sliver of pity to him that feels incredibly grounded. Rather than completely writing Teddy off as a self-serving crackpot, the film goes deeper into how he ended up like this. This makes him much less of a caricature as the film tries to understand how people transform due to their circumstances. There is a bit of self-righteousness and hypocrisy to him, which I think is very reflective of those who are so desperate to be right about something, anything that gives them a knowledgeable edge against the population. But as time goes on, you see real noble purpose in his pursuits, as his potential hysteria is spawned by his need to fight for his mother, his cousin and the planet as a whole. Plemons does remarkably well physically nailing this type of character, mixing confidence and self-doubt in a way that makes him the perfect kind of protagonist you want to see unravel.

And I don’t think it’s surprising to say that Emma Stone is very good. Yet another incredibly physical transformation she’s put herself through, transforming from girlboss CEO to potential alien. And honestly, there’s probably no one better to take on this role. Those big eyes, the slight slouch she gives herself in that coat; it all just comes together so well. Stone is such a commanding presence here, at times high off her own supply of corporate speak, but because she truly believes what she’s saying, that’s what makes her words so icy. Speaking of which, I loved how the film framed this hollow form of corporate dialogue. It’s so carefully constructed to sound appealing to the human ear that, at this point, it just sounds so fake, so manufactured, so…alien, if I may. If you’ve worked any kind of corporate job, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Despite spending most of the film chained up, she controls most of the dialogues, which is a ton of fun to see as it slowly peels back the layers of all characters involved. Also, it can’t be understated how good Aidan Delbis is as Teddy’s intellectually disabled cousin, Don. A performance filled with so much tenderness and trust that ends up being absolutely soul shattering. Oh hey, and shout out to Stavros Halkias for making it into the big leagues. Sorry it had to be as a cop who diddles kids.

The film strikes this solid balance between simplicity and complexity in how it builds its world. It’s shot super simply, but the coloring makes the world pop while still managing to have this nice layer of grime over it. That booming orchestral soundtrack is such a nice throwback and really helps to elevate these tense moments of inner and outer panic. And without giving away where the story goes…well, it’s not the hardest to predict. But when all the dressing works this well, guessing the direction doesn’t really matter. You’re more interested in seeing the characters change than having your questions answered, which is the mark of a truly talented director. Which, yeah, I guess it’s been enough time that we can call Lathimos that.

But this thing was not a complete homerun for me, unfortunately. While the first and second act are incredibly compelling and interesting, the third act ends up being a bit of a mess. It’s still a lot of fun to watch, but the overall intention of the story begins to get a bit muddy. The film takes aim at a lot of talking points; corporations destroying the environment, honest, hard workers being manipulated and taken advantage of, and the bees. Won’t someone think of the bees? It lines a lot of these up for some pretty surface-level critiques before the third act kinda flips everything on its head. That’s a welcome mixup for the story, but it ultimately confused me on what the film was ultimately trying to say. To say it’s saying nothing is a disservice to Lathimos and his body of work, but I just don’t think this was as complete of a thought as his other films. Every prickly territory it delves into is kinda just wiped away by the end, sacrificing some character building for some odd decisions that don’t make a ton of sense when you go back and reflect from the beginning. But if anything, it’s making me want to watch it again just to figure out what I missed. If there’s more to unpack, I would love to discuss it more, but for now, it kinda left me feeling a bit hollow.

But even without a truly interesting or provocative take on the “us vs. them” dilemma, Bugonia still pulls off a highly entertaining pseudo sci-fi tale filled with tension, uncomfortable laughs and grim conclusions. Its contained story leaves just enough wiggle room for some wonderful character work that I only wish could have been brought full circle more fulfilling. Overall, not Lathimos’ most out there or intriguing work, but certainly one that deserves your attention. I for one welcome our new insect overlords. They couldn’t do worse of a job running this place than we have.

RATING

QUEEN BEE

For this drink, I wanted to keep things nice and simple, because if you haven’t had a New York Sour before, hopefully this will convince you to do so. It’s essentially a whiskey sour with a little bit of red wine floated on top, which adds so much more complexity to the drink. But for the Queen Bee, we are going to be melding the New York Sour with another classic cocktail, the Gold Rush. This is gonna give the cocktail a slightly different, slight botanical taste compared to your regular New York Sour, while visually it’s going to reflect that red hot anger rising to the surface for our main characters. Lotioning up your body first is not required, but it is recommended.

INGREDIENTS

• 2oz overproof bourbon
• 3/4oz honey syrup/liqueur
• 3/4oz lemon juice
• Float: red wine

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice.
2. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
3. Gently pour red wine over the back of a spoon over the cocktail to make the red layer.