Emma Stone has returned to the Venice Film Festival with Bugonia, one of the year’s most talked-about films, reuniting with director Yorgos Lanthimos in a darkly comic tale of conspiracy theories, captivity and fractured belief systems.
Stone plays Michelle Fuller, a powerful pharmaceutical CEO taken hostage by Teddy, a troubled young man portrayed by Jesse Plemons, who blames her company for his mother’s illness and the collapse of bee populations. Assisted reluctantly by his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy imprisons Michelle in his basement, convinced she is an alien and holds the key to saving humanity.
The film, a loose remake of Jang Joon-hwan’s cult 2003 Korean sci-fi Save the Green Planet!, blends absurdist humour with psychological intensity. With much of the action set within Teddy’s barricaded home — its windows covered in foil — Lanthimos uses confinement to peel back his characters’ convictions and vulnerabilities.
Stone, who shaved her head for the role, said at the premiere that the story felt both timely and unsettling. “There’s so much that’s happening that I think is reflective of this point in time and our world,” she told reporters. “It’s fascinating, moving, funny, messed up, and alive.”
The Oscar-winning actor, who has now collaborated with Lanthimos on four films including The Favourite and Poor Things, described their creative partnership as a privilege. “The opportunity to get to work on these things that I have with him has been just a dream, because the material always has so much to confront,” she said.
Critics praised Plemons’ performance as Teddy, a man fuelled by paranoia and grief. Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily noted, “He rants and raves a lot, but Plemons brings depth to Teddy, a man who has shut himself off because of past traumas.”
For Plemons, who earned an Academy Award nomination for The Power of the Dog, the film’s appeal lay in its challenge to assumptions about outsiders. “I think we have an instinct in general to close the book on things that are scary, hard to look at, and hard to understand,” he said. “It’s risky to dismiss them as not human, since they are human and live.”
Lanthimos, known for blending surrealism with sharp social commentary, balances Bugonia’s unsettling premise with moments of unexpected levity. While critics acknowledge its violence and strangeness, many suggest it may be more accessible than his previous works.
Stone’s transformation on screen has also drawn attention, not only for her shaved head but also for her willingness to fully embrace the physical demands of captivity. When asked about aliens, she quipped: “One of my favourite people ever is Carl Sagan. He believed it was selfish to think we’re alone in the universe. So yes, I believe in aliens. Thank you.”
Bugonia continues screening at Venice this week, where it has become a standout in the festival’s line-up, sparking debate over how far conspiracy and belief can blur the line between reality and delusion.