In theaters on October 31st is ‘Bugonia’, which finds Jesse Plemons as Teddy, a man convinced that extraterrestrials from Andromeda have been strategically destroying the human race (and bees) and kidnaps a woman (Emma Stone’s Michelle) he believes is one of the marauding aliens.
At this point, we both know what to predict from a Yorgos Lanthimos movie –– weirdness in abundance, but with a moral core –– and also to expect the unexpected as the Greek filmmaker goes in different directions for his work.
Here, re-teaming for a fourth time with Emma Stone and a second with Jesse Plemons (who appeared in last year’s ‘Kinds of Kindness’, he’s found a suitable subject re-making 2003 Korean conspiracy thriller/dark comedy ‘Save the Green Planet!’
Written by Will Tracy, a ‘Succession’ veteran whose big screen work also includes 2022’s ‘The Menu’, ‘Bugonia’ adapts Jang Joon-hwan’s original script into something that works for both international audiences and Lanthimos’ own sensibilities.
While it occasionally lags in pace, it largely keeps the shocks and the laughs coming, and has you guessing whether Stone’s character really is from another planet or if Plemons is simply supremely delusional.
Lanthimos, working again with cinematographer Robbie Ryan, keeps things mostly grounded, letting the performances do the heavy lifting, but adding in stylish touches that help tell the story.
Stone and Plemons are the focus here, with Stone as hard-charging businesswoman who is by turns icily logical and desperately emotional depending on the situation. She really has found a great collaborator in the director, who keeps pushing her in fascinating new directions.
Plemons, meanwhile, also flourishes, feasting on the role of the twitchy, tortured, lank-haired lead, a man convinced his theories are correct even in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary.
But there’s great work too from newcomer Aidan Delbis as Teddy’s cousin/sidekick Don, a young man on the autism spectrum who really wants to go along with Teddy’s plans, but has such a sweet naiveté to how he sees the word.
‘Bugonia’ has more on its mind than the basic clash of conspiracy thriller and farcical comedy you might have predicted, including meditations on the machinations of big pharma and the dire condition of the Earth’s climate.
But it’s all so wrapped in effective entertainment that it never feels like a lecture.
‘Bugonia’ receives 85 out of 100.
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What’s the story of ‘Bugonia’?
Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
If you enjoy hearing talented types talk up their work, attendees will be able to see the likes of Al Pacino, William Petersen and John Carpenter at special screenings of movies they appeared in or made.
And that’s not all! Stunt icon Kenji Tanigaki brings his instantly infamous epic-fight-fest, ‘The Furious’, to the Egyptian Theatre for its US Premiere, while Jalmari Helander’s ‘Sisu: Road to Revenge’ will raise the action to another level.
Plus, there is the usual host of retrospective presentations, including Al Pacino discussing the legacy of ‘Dick Tracy’, an event celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Karyn Kusama’s ‘The Invitation’ and Gore Verbinski returns to the Egyptian Theatre for a very special screening of ‘The Ring’.
This year’s event runs between September 23rd –– October 8th.
In partnership with the American Cinematheque and presented exclusively by distributor NEON, Beyond Fest will screen at the Egyptian Theatre, Aero Theatre and Los Feliz 3. Theatre.
Opening in theaters in limited release on June 21st before opening wide on June 28th is the new anthology film from Oscar-nominated writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos (‘The Favourite’ and ‘Poor Things’) entitled ‘Kinds of Kindness’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Joe Alwyn and Mamoudou Athie about their work on ‘Kinds of Kindness’, their first reaction to the unusual screenplay, the challenges of playing three different characters in three separate stories, working with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, and collaborating with director Yorgos Lanthimos on set.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
Moviefone: To begin with, Joe, can you talk about your first reaction to reading this screenplay and what did you think of the idea of telling three different stories all with the same cast?
Joe Alwyn: When I first read it, it’s unlike anything I’ve read. I was so intrigued, so baffled, and so excited. The fact that it was split into these three stories as an anthology, I really liked it. It almost felt like an experiment. I don’t know if I completely got it or if I have yet completely got it. But I also really liked his idea of having, as you say, the same cast playing different roles in each one. It felt like a theater troop and there was something playful about that. I was just excited to be invited back into Yorgos’s world. I knew I’d say yes before I’d even read it.
MF: Mamoudou, was it challenging playing three different characters in the same movie?
Mamoudou Athie: Honestly, that was the least challenging thing about it. I mean, that’s just kind of part of the job. It just happened to be protracted in a period where you’re doing it back-to-back to back. But it didn’t feel like any special task. It was just three different characters that I had to work on, which I feel like we’d all done. I mean, in drama school numerous times we were working on three different things at once, and it just so happened that these all somehow tied together in the same universe. But other than that, it was creative situation for the environment and that’s it.
MF: Do you have a favorite character or segment that you worked on?
MA: Well, obviously I have the most to do on the second, so that gave me a lot of opportunity to explore and work with Yorgos and Jesse. So, I guess it’d been the second.
MF: Joe, what is it like being an actor on a Yorgos Lanthimos set?
JA: I mean, he’s brilliant. He doesn’t, in my experience, try and tackle things the way that you might conventionally think he would, or a director would. So, there isn’t really conversation about character or themes or intention or the things that you might expect. But he’s quite blunt and quite direct in a way of getting what he wants in quite a simple, instructive way, which is useful. I think he really encourages a sense of play. He keeps things very light. So even though the stories and characters are often going into dark corners, there’s a real lightness and you feel safe, you might not know exactly what it is that’s going to come out the other end, but you feel safe and willing and wanting to jump in and give it a go.
MF: Mamoudou, what was your experience like collaborating with Yorgos on set?
MA: Oh, he’s the man. I mean, I remember being very intimidated. He’s one of my favorite directors, period. I came in with a lot of reverence. I remember leaving the project like, “Oh, I should have been a lot more irreverent” because it was just so much fun, and it didn’t have to be anything. I imagine the script as kind of like a tome or a bible, but there’s a lot of leeway and there’s a lot of play, and it was just a very fun set. There was a lot of laughs, and I was surprised by how many times we were just cracking up on set.
MF: Finally, Mamoudou, what was it like working with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons on this project?
MA: I’ve had such respect for them, and it’s always nice when people live up to what you hope. Jesse is a real actor, a real actor’s actor, he’s committed and same for Emma. Just the commitment to the work itself. Everything else is secondary. But also, it was fun and easy, and we had just chill conversations. It was just the best working environment with two actors that I could hope for.
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What is the plot of ‘Kinds of Kindness’?
‘Kinds of Kindness’ is an anthology film, with three separate stories that are only loosely connected. The first tells of a man (Jesse Plemons) whose life is dominated by his boss (Willem Dafoe) in extreme ways; the second follows a cop (Jesse Plemons) who is convinced that his wife (Emma Stone), who returns home after being missing and presumed dead, is not who she says she is; and in the third, two people (Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons) hit the road on behalf of a strange cult to find a woman (Margaret Qualley) who’s prophesized to have incredible powers.
Who is in the cast of ‘Kinds of Kindness’?
Emma Stone as Rita / Liz / Emily
Jesse Plemons as Robert / Daniel / Andrew
Willem Dafoe as Raymond / George / Omi
Margaret Qualley as Vivian / Martha / Ruth and Rebecca
For his ninth feature film, ‘Kinds of Kindness,’ Greek director and co-writer Yorgos Lanthimos (working again with his frequent writing partner, Efthimis Filippou) returns to the surreal horror/comedy of earlier works like ‘Dogtooth,’ ‘Alps,’ and ‘The Lobster.’ Not that you could call his recent, Oscar-winning films like ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Poor Things’ conventional, exactly: both still incorporate Lanthimos’ sense of the absurd, his visceral approach to sex and physical violence, and a heightened reality into more linear, accessible narratives.
For ‘Kinds of Kindness,’ however, he’s gone back to the more enigmatic storytelling of his earlier films, skirting the line between dark comedy and outright horror (although more on the comedic side than, say, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’). Perhaps in a sly wink to the format that spawned cult horror favorites like ‘Dead of Night’ (1945), ‘The House That Dripped Blood’ (1971), ‘Creepshow’ (1982) and more recent entries like ‘Ghost Stories’ (2017) and the ‘V/H/S’ series, ‘Kinds of Kindness’ is an anthology film, telling three loosely connected stories starring the same troupe of actors in different roles.
The result is a long (nearly three hours) yet continuously entertaining cinematic hall of mirrors, at times frightening, revolting, and hilarious, with Lanthimos’ ensemble of actors – led, for their third feature together, by Emma Stone – clearly enjoying the exercise. Some viewers may find Lanthimos’ style here too much of a slow burn, while others may be frustrated by the unreality that intrudes in each story and his often cold view of the characters. But this is a rewarding, eerie, and unpredictable look at human behavior and the dark lengths to which people will go to win approval or acceptance.
The single thread that connects the three tales is a character named R.M.F. (Yorgos Stefanakos), who appears at key points in all three narratives yet whose presence is never fully explained. The character also provides the title for each segment. In the first, “The Death of R.M.F.,” Jesse Plemons plays Robert, a man who seems to have it all: a beautiful house, a loving wife (Hong Chau), and a successful career with a boss, Raymond (Willem Dafoe), who seemingly loves him like a son. But early on it’s made clear that Robert’s life is actually controlled by Raymond, down to what he eats, what he reads, and even when he has sex with his wife.
After Raymond gives Robert a task that Robert is simply unable to do, Robert is fired – and his life spirals downward from there. His wife leaves him, he has to sell off prized possessions, and he becomes increasingly desperate in his efforts to win back Raymond’s affection. Things are only complicated when he begins a relationship with a woman (Emma Stone) who also seems to have come under Raymond’s sinister wing.
The control that our employers have over our lives – aren’t we all on call all the time? – is very much taken to an extreme in ‘The Death of R.M.F.,’ but a theme here that recurs mainly in the third segment is our seemingly inescapable need to be accepted. Robert goes to terrible lengths to get back into Raymond’s good graces, and his spiral into near-madness is as disquieting as it is darkly humorous.
There’s a different kind of rejection afoot in ‘R.M.F. is Flying,’ the second and probably least effective of the three stories. Plemons again takes center stage as Daniel, a cop whose wife Liz (Stone) has gone missing on some sort of scientific ocean expedition. He watches videos of get-togethers with their best friends (played by Mamoudou Athie and Margaret Qualley), although the videos are not exactly of backyard barbecues. And then Liz is found and returns home – but Daniel soon begins to suspect that the woman in his house is not his wife.
There is plenty of atmosphere and the same dark humor in this segment, but even for a movie that does not rely on normal logic, its story doesn’t cohere as well as ‘The Death of R.M.F.’ or the third segment, ‘R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich.’ Yet Daniel’s psychological descent, combined with Liz’s apparently odd behavior, is a metaphor for the dynamics in any human relationship: how well do we truly know the person next to us, that we are spending our life with?
Emma Stone steps up to the lead role in ‘R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,’ playing a woman named Emily who has abandoned her husband and daughter and joined a bizarre cult led by Omi (Dafoe) and his wife Aka (Chau). She and fellow cult member Andrew (Plemons) are tasked with searching for a person prophesized to have miraculous powers, who will become a leader of great importance to the cult.
‘R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich’ sort of comes full circle, focusing on the lengths that people will go to in order to feel like they’re part of something greater than themselves. It’s heavily implied that the women in the cult are allowed only to have sex with Omi, and must undergo purification rituals and face exile if they have sex with others, debasing themselves to stay within Omi’s good graces. There are contrivances along the way (Emily’s need to drive recklessly seems to exist only to serve the plot later on) and, unlike the first two segments, ‘Sandwich’ ends with an abrupt twist ending straight out of O. Henry.
Cumulatively, the stories suggest a world where reality can fray at the edges and unnatural forces can creep in, especially in the second and third tales. Unlike the lush period details of ‘The Favourite’ or the colorful fantasia of ‘Poor Things,’ ‘Kinds of Kindness’ is set in a modern-day milieu, splitting its time between bastions of wealth (Raymond’s offices and home in the first segment) and lackluster, depressing settings (Daniel’s wood-paneled home in the second story, the outside of a hospital late at night).
As in his previous work, Lanthimos is matter-of-fact in his portrayal of violence and sex: the former is abrupt, unpleasant, and inevitable (including one hard-to-watch scene where someone chops off their finger), while the latter isn’t erotic in the usual sense, but primal, urgent, and messy. Lanthimos and DP Robbie Ryan frame it and light it all simply and functionally, often going from wide shots straight to immersive close-ups involving a face or body part.
Kudos also to Jerskin Fendrix for his minimalist, ominous score, which alternates between single plinks on the piano (a la ‘Eyes Wide Shut’) more thunderous, doom-laden chords, and apocalyptic choral bursts. The music both heightens the atmosphere and comments on the action, the latter often to subtly hilarious effect.
‘Kinds of Kindness’ is clearly a film made for actors to stretch themselves as much as possible, with all the main actors (with the exception of Hunter Schafer) playing different roles in each segment. The MVP in this case is Plemons, who plays two different needy, insecure men in the first two stories yet manages to create two complete, wholly distinctive performances (also very different from his frightening cameo in ‘Civil War’ earlier this year). He changes himself again in the third story, where he’s more of a supporting player, and his work throughout is nothing less than a tour de force.
Emma Stone, of course, is outstanding as always, with a supporting role in the first segment, a larger one in the second, and the lead in the third. Her character is more enigmatic and less fleshed out in the second story, but she is riveting in the final tale as a deeply damaged woman who has withdrawn so much from the world that she cannot even find any spare warmth for her daughter.
Willem Dafoe is excellent as a malevolent father figure in all three stories (especially in the first and last), while Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley (who does her meatiest work in segment three), Mamoudou Athie, and the rest weave seamlessly in and out of each section of the film like the members of a seasoned stage company able to take on any role in the repertory.
If you have found Yorgos Lanthimos’ work troublesome or even harrowing to sit through in the past, you might have a tough time watching ‘Kinds of Kindness’: there is cruelty (mostly to humans, but also briefly to an animal), callousness, sexual assault, and sadistic behavior. It steps in and out of reality, sometimes jarringly, and it can be frustrating in the way it doesn’t lay out the meaning of everything you see.
Yet the film is also bracing, mind-bending, and utterly unpredictable from start to finish, with the film not feeling its length at all as one gets caught up in the nightmarish surreality that Lanthimos constructs and maintains. Ironically, kindness is found only sparingly in these stories, but that may be more like the real world than anything else.
‘Kinds of Kindness’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Kinds of Kindness’?
‘Kinds of Kindness’ is an anthology film, with three separate stories that are only loosely connected. The first tells of a man whose life is dominated by his boss in extreme ways; the second follows a cop who is convinced that his wife, who returns home after being missing and presumed dead, is not who she says she is; and in the third, two people hit the road on behalf of a strange cult to find a woman who’s prophesized to have incredible powers.
Who is in the cast of ‘Kinds of Kindness’?
Emma Stone as Rita / Liz / Emily
Jesse Plemons as Robert / Daniel / Andrew
Willem Dafoe as Raymond / George / Omi
Margaret Qualley as Vivian / Martha / Ruth and Rebecca
Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons will star in ‘Bugonia’.
It’s Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie.
‘Bugonia’ adapts 2003 Korean film ‘Save the Green Planet’.
Given that she just won an Oscar working with director Yorgos Lanthimos on ‘Poor Things’ (their second collaboration after ‘The Favourite’), it’s hardly surprising that Emma Stone is looking to reunite with the director, who has become a trusted filmmaking partner.
And the pair is bringing along Jesse Plemons, who stars alongside Stone in the director’s next release, the upcoming ‘Kinds of Kindness’, which just debuted to praise in Cannes and will be in theaters on June 21st.
Lanthimos’ next project (which he’ll get working on soon, since both ‘Poor Things’ and ‘Kinds of Kindness’ were squeezed in in quick succession after success with ‘The Favourite’) is an adaptation of a 2003 South Korean fantasy sci-fi comedy called ‘Save the Green Planet’, focused on alien conspiracy theories and kidnapping.
While we’re surprised to see Lanthimos pivot from his own work (though both ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Poor Things’ were adaptations, one of a previously-written script; the other from a novel), the quirkiness of this one does sound like something he’d tackle.
Assuming it follows the rough story of the original, here’s what we know so far…
Director Joon-Hwan Jang‘s 2003 debut follows Lee Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun), who comes to believe that a number of Korean leaders and top business types are secretly reptilian aliens driving an invasion of his beloved planet Earth.
When he abducts several and absconds with them to a basement command centre to start prying information from their scaly brains, the authorities hire a skilled private detective to track him and his victims down. All the while, Byeong-gu’s devoted girlfriend aids his mission, even as she worries his crusade is born out of his traumatic childhood.
‘Succession’ and ‘The Menu’ veteran Will Tracy (who also created ‘The Regime’ for HBO) wrote the adaptation, which Variety mentions as following two young men who kidnap a female CEO, convinced she is an alien leading an attack. So perhaps the perspective of the female lead has switched this time –– we can certainly see Stone wanting to play a meatier role than the girlfriend of one of the kidnappers.
Besides Lanthimos, the team backing the movie includes director Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen, who developed the project for their Square Peg production company. They’ll produce the movie with Lanthimos veterans Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, alongside Lanthimos, Stone and Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko.
Unlike Lanthimos last couple of movies, which were released (or in the case of ‘Kinds of Kindness’ will be released) by Searchlight Pictures, Focus Features has snapped up the rights to send this one to theaters, with Universal taking most international markets.
When will ‘Bugonia’ be in theaters?
Focus Features has yet to specify a release date for the remake.
In theaters December 8th, ‘Poor Things’ is the latest slab of eccentricity from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, who seems to attract applause and head-scratching in near equal measure.
The filmmaker has brought us the likes of odd family drama ‘Dogtooth’, offbeat romantic drama ‘The Lobster’, horror mystery ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ and, most recently, his Oscar-winning historical comedy drama ‘The Favourite’, which started his collaboration with actor Emma Stone.
She’s back for his latest, a skewed version of a ‘Frankenstein’-alike mad scientist story that goes to some very strange places but also has interesting things to say about female power and misogyny.
While the story of a woman reborn –– we won’t reveal exactly what is going on, as that is something audiences should discover if they haven’t been spoiled on the truth of the matter –– and its attendant learning-about-the-world tale is sure to turn some away, put off out by the uncanny visions on display.
But even if you’re initially disquieted by the movie, our advice is to stick with it, as –– much like its main character –– ‘Poor Things’ has a lot more to say as it develops.
‘Poor Things’ sees Lanthimos working once again with ‘The Favourite’ scriptwriter Tony McNamara, who here adapts Alasdair Gray’s novel for the screen.
And as with ‘The Favourite’, it’s a combination that works –– while the new movie features some very different characters and ideas than their previous collaboration, the subversive use of grotesque personalities and power plays is still effective in a more fantastical setting.
McNamara weaves a compelling tale around Stone’s Bella but doesn’t let (most of) the other roles slide –– you can certainly see why actors, particularly those who like a challenge –– would flock to work with this writer/director team.
Lanthimos is always someone who weaves worlds around his characters, either with stark production design or, in the case of ‘Poor Things’ a riot of Victoriana that gives way to something more akin to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s more fantastical films as Bella’s journey continues. It’s definitely a fictional world –– no one will accuse ‘Poor Things’ of existing in reality –– but that all helps make it work.
There is no questioning Emma Stone’s commitment to the role of Bella Baxter, the young woman at the heart of the story. Stone has shown real willingness to stretch herself (partly in working with Lanthimos, where the result was a deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for ‘The Favourite) and she throws herself into the part with gusto and vulnerability that gives way to steely determination.
There isn’t too much room for nuance in playing Bella, but Stone digs some out, making you root for the character even though she can, at times early on, be tough to get a handle on her with her behavior. But she soon becomes someone you’re compelled to follow.
Willem Dafoe also does a lot with a role that offers a little less to grasp onto than Bella. As scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter, he’s Bella’s father figure, but an imposing, distant type for much of the running time –– it’s clear he loves her and wants to care for her but isn’t entirely sure how.
Mark Ruffalo, meanwhile, is having all manner of fun as the lascivious lawyer Duncan Wedderburn, and it’s infectious even as you loathe him for how he treats Bella when she grows past his influence.
Around the central figures is a fine ensemble of actors given smaller, but still vital roles –– Kathryn Hunter shows up late on as a madam at a brothel who becomes something of a strangely wise mentor to Bella, letting her know how things really work in the world. This might be an offbeat reality, but some truths shine through, such as dynamics between men and women in ‘Poor Things’ faux-historical setting.
There are one or two characters that don’t quite serve the actors as well –– Margaret Qualley, for example, is somewhat wasted in the thankless role of Felicity, who essentially serves as a cheap joke and could have been excised entirely without hurting the film.
‘Poor Things’ is well worth your time if you’re willing to relax into its particularly unusual vibe and engage with Bella Baxter’s story. It’s not just weird for weirdness’ sake, every element carefully curated to serve the plot.
This is Yorgos Lanthimos at his most fantastical yet, but still maintaining the moral and ethical undercurrents that make his movies work beyond the strange surface trappings. It’ll certainly not be one to gather the family around at Christmas, but it’ll appeal to those who are after something distinctly different in their cinematic entertainment.
Boasting a standout performance from Emma Stone, and Mark Ruffalo as you’ve probably never seen him before –– even the Hulk would wonder about Wedderburn.
‘Poor Things’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Poor Things’?
This is the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn.
Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
