The case for Bugonia to win Best Picture
Add Bugonia to your watchlist There’s no Oscar best-picture hopeful this year with slimmer chances than the latest black comedy from director Yorgos Lanthimos, which has met with a cautious reception even while scoring nominations at most major awarding bodies. But this underdog status highlights what’s interesting about the film: defined by an apparent sourness and misanthropy missing from frontrunners like One Battle after Another and Hamnet, the gorgeous and unhappy Bugonia feels far more suited to its moment – even if many of us would hesitate to admit this. The story follows a conspiracy-obsessed white American man, Teddy (Jesse Plemons), who persuades his loyal cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) to help kidnap Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of a biomedical company. Teddy believes that Michelle represents an extra-terrestrial race that is working to infiltrate and destabilise humanity, and he wishes, quite literally, to be taken to her leader. Will Tracy, nominated for his screenplay, adapts the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! and smartly whittles its story down, retaining the major twists …
