In an age where distinguishing what’s genuine on its surface from something that’s clandestinely veiled, it may be difficult to know what to believe. As a result, we might give up and disregard making any attempt to identify inherent (and potentially significant) differences. Or, by contrast, we may become so obsessed with reconciling such matters that we descend into a sea of paranoid conspiracy theories, potentially seeing them at every turn and placing us on the sidelines of reality with no credibility to our names. In actuality, the “truth” probably resides somewhere in between, but where and how do we draw the lines of accurate and meaningful distinction? Those are the considerations continually raised and examined in this new dark comedy/fable from director Yorgos Lanthimos in which a pair of intellectually challenged cousins, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis), kidnap the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), believing that she’s an alien from Andromeda who’s quietly but determined to seek the destruction of mankind. But is their contention legitimate or the ravings of delusional madmen? The narrative continually vacillates in each direction, especially when the cousins’ captive employs some skillful psychological warfare to throw them off their game and undermine their confidence in their claim. In any event, this unlikely trio has an impending deadline of four days – the time before the alleged arrival of the Andromedan mother ship in connection with the next lunar eclipse – to resolve matters, a challenge made difficult by the emergence of several distracting subplots and the impact of Michelle’s gamesmanship on her captors’ plans. And, as the picture plays out, it raises intriguing questions about corporate motivations, unbridled greed, the sincerity (or lack thereof) behind public health initiatives, environmental degradation (particularly involving the welfare of bees and the role of colony collapse disorder (CCD)) and the true nature of Earth’s ancient past. It all makes for an intriguing mix of influences that never fails to captivate, an attribute made stronger by the fine, award-worthy performances of the three principals, a smartly penned screenplay, intriguingly clever special effects and an edgy, dramatic original score. A few pacing issues crop up at times, and several incidents of graphic violence may be more than what sensitive viewers can handle. But, those minor considerations aside, “Bugonia” is the first stellar awards season release to appear in this year’s movie marketplace and yet another brilliant work from Lanthimos, arguably one of the hottest directors in the business these days. This decidedly quirky offering probably won’t appeal to everyone, and viewers may not come away from it with any greater sense of clarity in terms of how to distinguish truth from deliberately concealed fiction. But, if nothing else, it gives us all much to think about as we attempt – no matter how successfully or futilely – to figure out what’s really going on in our world and what we might be able to do about it.
