Bugonia

since i’ve watched bugonia multiple times already i feel like it deserves an actual review, so here are some of my highlights of this film (in my opinion) - the acting is just extremely good. emma stone, jesse plemmons, & aidan delbis fulfill their roles amazingly. stone’s character has such a calm, professional demeanor that can be accredited to her high-profile life but comes off as very detached from reality. i love how insistent, desperate, & complex plemmon’s character is in this. although his character is clearly suffering from mental illness which clouds his judgement, he also is extremely intelligent & aware of it. i’m honestly surprised that this is delbis’s first feature film, because his performance is so underrated (also, great to see autistic rep). delbis’s character questions his cousin’s conspiracies, often out of concern for his cousin’s well-being, but loves him enough to follow through with their plans. their character’s unconditional familial love for each other & shared grief elevated this film for me.  - the earth being canonically flat in this film. that is fucking hilarious  - the score?! i’m not a huge movie expert, i barely know any fancy film terminology or whatever but i learned what a film score was just so i could explain how much i love it. the score just stood out so much because it was dramatic & loud even when the characters were doing the most mundane things— at first i was confused, but then i realized that might’ve been the point (esp w the ending sequence)? it calls attention to the menial, repetitive, boring things we do in life & our everyday routine. what typically goes unnoticed is still part of our precious time on earth. it’s also just really good ughhh - ‘good luck, babe’ by chappell roan & ‘basket case’ by green day in the same film. enough said.  - portrayal of mental illness & grief is done well. i’m not going much into detail (or else i’ll cry) but i’ve experienced intense grief this past year so i either LOVE or absolutely HATE movies that discuss grief. bugonia? i love its portrayal of grief— it’s the central focus, it’s implied that plemmon’s character is still deeply affected by it, it’s discussed but never in a way where the character’s flat out, crudely talk about it— the grief is shown but never becomes just a tool in the film to make it dramatic. the acting here plays such a good role in the theme of grief: plemmon’s character never quite addresses his pain, tries to deflect when it’s brought up, & turns to his conspiracy research & beekeeping for a sense of comfort & control. the flashbacks with his mother is also a great visual portrayal of grief.  the ending was okay, sure, i just wish it was crazier! it could’ve really hammered in the message more. but overall this was an amazing film, there’s so much i can say about what makes it stand out to me but i’ve already yapped too much ok bye