Yorgos Lanthimos returns with a bizarre and unsettling new film that plunges into the chaotic mind of a conspiracy theorist. While technically accomplished and featuring a compelling central performance from Jesse Plemons, the movie struggles to fully reconcile its absurdist comedy with a late-in-the-game lurch toward gravitas.
The story centers on Teddy, a beekeeper played with unnerving conviction by Plemons. Devastated by the mysterious decline of bee populations, which he attributes to a giant corporation, Teddy’s online research has led him to a radical conclusion: the company’s ruthless CEO, Michelle (Emma Stone), is not human but an alien from Andromeda. Enlisting his gullible cousin, Teddy kidnaps Michelle, imprisoning her in his basement with the goal of forcing a confession and saving the planet.
Stone delivers a masterclass in cold corporate detachment as Michelle, a woman whose daily routine is a monument to soulless efficiency. Her performance charts a chilling evolution from arrogant executive to desperate captive, cycling through fury, negotiation, and feigned compliance as a survival tactic.
Plemons, meanwhile, embodies the terrifying plausibility of fanaticism. His Teddy is not a cartoon villain but a tragically misguided man, whose warped logic is given a layer of pathos through a nuanced subplot involving a local police officer and their shared, troubled past.
The film’s title, referencing an ancient myth about life spawning from death, echoes its themes of decay and desperate rebirth. Lanthimos, working from a script by Will Tracy, crafts a world that feels both claustrophobic and unhinged, amplified by a deliberately abrasive musical score.
However, the narrative’s extended buildup of grotesque humor and violent slapstick creates a jarring contrast with its final act, which attempts to pivot toward serious commentary on trauma and global anxiety. This tonal shift raises questions about whether the preceding absurdity adequately earns its somber conclusion. The film ultimately feels like a collection of striking, well-executed parts that don’t quite cohere into a satisfying whole, falling short of the emotional resonance and inventive brilliance of the director’s recent work. It remains a prickly, challenging piece that fascinates even as it frustrates.
