With a shaved head, expert line deliveries and the assembly of another all-time memorable character, Emma Stone continues driving this golden age of cinema. She might just be our modern-day Katharine Hepburn.
Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, Oscar-nominated director of “Poor Things” and “The Favourite,” has fully stepped into his Alfred Hitchcock era with “Bugonia,” which represents a bold new realm for the filmmaker. At the Telluride Film Festival, executive director Julie Huntsinger introduced Jesse Plemons as “Jesse F***ing Plemons,” and the actor lived up to the billing in every way.
After debuting at the Venice Film Festival, Lanthimos’ wildly audacious “Bugonia” unveiled itself to audiences at the Werner Herzog Theatre. The dark comedy presents the best kind of problem for distributor Focus Features for this Oscar season: how to shepherd two powerhouse contenders (the other being “Hamnet”) through the long, unpredictable marathon of awards campaigning and determine which narrative will resonate most with the Academy.
Adapted from Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 South Korean cult classic “Save the Green Planet!,” the film follows two conspiracy-obsessed men — played by Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis — who kidnap a high-powered CEO (Stone), convinced she’s an alien bent on destroying Earth.
Plemons, already an Oscar nominee for Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” (2021), goes for broke in what may be his most audacious and riveting work yet. A best actor nomination feels not only possible but inevitable. It’s hard to pinpoint Oscar winners in history who embody this type of role, but the closest comparison seems a mixture of Anthony Hopkins (“The Silence of the Lambs”) and Geoffrey Rush (“Shine”).
Stone, a two-time Oscar winner for “La La Land” (2016) and “Poor Things” (2023), shows an almost frightening fearlessness in her craft. At 36, the actor-producer is still building what could become one of Hollywood’s most decorated careers. Like Hepburn, who won four Academy Awards over a lifetime of iconic performances, Stone seems poised to keep redefining what a leading lady can be.
Stone has already made history as one of two women nominated for acting and producing in the same year (“Poor Things”). The other was Frances McDormand for “Nomadland” (2020), who won both actress and best picture — her third and fourth Oscars. McDormand’s other two Oscars came for acting in “Fargo” (1996) and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017).
Stone’s résumé already reads like the arc of an entire generation. From the sharp comic timing of “Easy A” to the aching vulnerability in “The Favourite,” and from her razor-edge balancing act in “Birdman” to the surrealist bravado of “Poor Things,” Stone has never repeated herself. Each performance arrives with a sense of reinvention — not unlike Hepburn, whose leap from screwball comedies in the 1930s to searing dramas in the 1960s charted an artistic evolution rarely equaled in Hollywood.
Both women also share a restless, almost defiant streak against the industry’s rigid expectations. Hepburn was notorious for refusing to play ingénues and insisted on characters with wit, grit and a pointed refusal to apologize for their ambition. Stone, in her own era, has forged a similar path — often playing women who are messy, intelligent, sensual and deeply flawed, making them magnetic nonetheless. The throughline between the two actresses is not imitation, rather an inheritance: a lineage of artistry where authenticity triumphs over convention.
Delbis, an autistic actor who prefers that term over “neurodivergent,” is remarkable in his screen debut. His portrayal of Don, a young man torn between loyalty and the yearning for truth, is raw, honest and is the emotional backbone. His presence alongside seasoned performers like Stone and Plemons gives the film a livewire quality — the sense that something unpredictable, and therefore thrilling, could spark at any moment.
Like many of Lanthimos’ films, “Bugonia” is a full-scale awards contender, with potential across acting, directing and screenplay categories, and strong prospects in every craft category — including visual effects.
In many ways, the film achieves what Adam McKay wanted “Don’t Look Up” to be: sharp, brittle social commentary on our world. The stark difference is that screenwriter Will Tracy never feels as though he’s talking down to the audience. He’s reflecting the world, holding a mirror up to our flawed selves.
But with the blend of multiple genres, I’d suspect the film to be polarizing to a select few (think “The Substance” last year). However, I think it will perform on par with “Poor Things,” which netted 11 nominations.
For Focus Features, this presents an enviable challenge of abundance: When your films are this good, the real art becomes deciding how to tell the story to voters.
