There’s a scene mid-way through “Bugonia” where Jesse Plemons’ character reaches a pivotal moment of confrontation with Emma Stone’s character, a prominent CEO whom he has taken captive under the belief she is an alien. Just as the pair’s argument reaches a dramatic climax, lo and behold: the local sheriff appears, inquiring about the kidnapping but mostly harmlessly catching up with Plemons, an old acquaintance.
What follows is a staple scene in any kidnapping drama: Teddy, the tortured conspiracist played by Pleomons, must humor the innocent sheriff — paying halfhearted attention to check whether he has aroused suspicion and making conversation out of steadily-waning politeness, but, mostly, just waiting for him to shut up and leave. And, regrettably, while sitting through much of Yorgos Lanthimos’ kooky new drama, it’s hard not to empathize.
There’s a certain uncanniness that the director brings to his adaptation of the 2003 South Korean film “Save the Green Planet!” Viewers are largely transplanted into Teddy’s intensely convicted worldview; many scenes are dictated by his obsessive expository monologues, and its consistently harsh, unnatural cinematography and saturated visual texture make for an inescapably dedicated storytelling experiment.
The oppressive narrative hinges on some career-best work from Stone, whose performance successfully leaves us guessing as to what facets of her demeanor are the signs of an out-of-touch corporate executive, scared captive, potential alien overlord or some confused mix of the lot.
There’s some great depth there, as well as to the story in general. The central mystery of whether Stone’s Michelle is really an Andromedan reflects Teddy’s simmering search for meaning at the root of human chaos and misfortune, and the answer “Bugonia” eventually reaches thoughtfully honors its understated thematic premise.
This understatement is the issue, though. The film’s meaningful intrigue is muted amidst a passé kidnapping plot that takes its time deepening the mystery of Michelle’s true nature and of Teddy’s ultimate motivation only to leap well over its trail of breadcrumbs and produce answers that satisfy neither.
Too often is the outcome of a scene exactly what is expected going in; too often was I tempted to glance away from its stale framing and find something more interesting on the theater wall to focus on while the narrative played out like a tiresome audiobook.
It’s hard to stay mad at “Bugonia,” which pulls itself into something forcefully complex by the very end and, in doing so, will undoubtedly prove itself more interesting than half of the year’s Best Picture nominees combined.
But the experience itself is a waste; it promises an exciting crime drama that it drags out with little development and it raises a thematic question it only lackadaisically seems to get around to answering. It is slow without being thoughtful, with more focus placed on telegraphing provocation via dramatic turns and stings from its admittedly-evocative score than on making the story as a whole worth watching.
Anyone interested in a new shocker collaboration from Lanthimos and Stone will get something thick, dry, but ultimately flavorful to chew on — everyone else would probably be better served saving room for dessert.
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.
