Bugonia

Wow this is easily one of my favorite theater experiences of the year. This is only my second Yorgos film, and it surpassed any and all expectations I could have had going in. This film is weird, hilarious, disturbing, fantastically scored, extremely entertaining, incredibly well shot and written, and consists of some of the best performances I’ve seen this year. So you know pretty much everything I could ask for in a movie.  Jessie Plemons absolutely rules in this. He’s one of my favorite actors currently working and after what felt like years of supporting actor roles where he steals the show, it’s so nice to see him have the freedom to go this balls-to-the-wall in a lead. Emma Stone is fantastic as well, there’s something so amazingly off putting about her performance in every scene, how she seems to walk the line between human and extraterrestrial is brilliant. The way she uses this manipulative corporate speak as a means to free herself is somehow both hilarious and disturbing. Newcomer Aiden Delvis is really great as well, playing a character with a lot more emotional depth than I expected.  What I originally thought to be a 4:3 aspect ratio turned out to be 1.50:1 aspect ratio and I really enjoyed the use of it here. The boxed in frame look really helps add to the claustrophobia, and fits perfectly considering this films story. There’s a real satisfying mixture of static wide shots and shots with movement that matches the characters. The extra space can really be felt once we exit the basement due to these wide shots, and it just makes everything feel even more isolated once we return.  I didn’t really know what the hell was happening, or what to believe by the time we got to the end of this film. But man was it a wild ride, every time I thought I had things figured out things flipped on there head. Will almost definitely be seeing this again. 10/10