Bugonia is a Masterpiece (10 Reasons Why)

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:01]Welcome back to the NMRW. We're going to dive into 10 reasons Beonia is a masterpiece. And at number one, we're going to talk about the score. The score is composed by this extremely talented pianist and conductor named Jerkin Fendrix. The score heightens the sense of grandiosity in the film. On first glance, the music almost seems out of place, like in this scene where Teddy is riding his bike down the street heading to work. the 90piece orchestra behind him would indicate to me that there's definitely something under the surface here and we need to keep watching to find out just what is going on that would require this level of immense orchestral musicality. It makes you say, "Okay, I get it. The music is super intense compared to the action on screen until you realize just how fitting it is." Let's just say this might be a space odyssey after all. Or is it?

[00:00:59]The score was written on piano and then translated for orchestral performance by the London Contemporary Orchestra.

[00:01:08]Recorded at the lovely AIRIR Studios in London. This is some of the best orchestral music I've ever heard.

[00:01:15]Period. It's bombastic. Quite simply, it's epic. The decision to have an orchestra create the sound of the music is so key to how we interpret the pictures we see on screen. We all know that sound can create half or even more of a movie's vibe. Its essence, and the essence they chose here is perfect. It's right up my alley, and I think it helps make this film a masterpiece.

[00:01:41]Reason number two, shallow depth of field.

[00:01:45]You might have noticed that when Yorgos Lanthamos, our director here, wants you to focus on dialogue and character, he uses a shot that effectively isolates the facial features of the speaker. This greatly enhances our ability to understand the emotion behind their words and it allows us to look into those eyes, windows to the soul, and connect with them. We accept and observe without critique every wrinkle and every flaw. characters become real. There's no Hollywood cakeface makeup here. This is raw. This type of shot is also not easy.

[00:02:22]The actor needs to stay relatively still, not moving for hours on end sometimes, so the crew can try to capture a great take. If they move forward or backward even an inch, the face loses focus and they have to start again. It's also very vulnerable to be seen in that type of shot. And I love that they chose to let us into the scenes this way. It's so enveloping when he uses this shot.

[00:02:47]Reason number three, storytelling.

[00:02:50]Beonia is the type of film that gets better after you see it. That's the only way I can describe it. You watch it and then you think about it for a day and all you want to do is see it again. And when you finally watch it a second time, you're in awe of how good the story was the first time you witnessed it. It's a trip. And make no doubt about it, you will be watching this twice because the second time you see it. You get to view the plot from a completely altered perspective. You really get two films for the price of one here. And we can't spoil it. So just know if you love sci-fi, you're going to love this.

[00:03:31]Reason number four, Emma Stone. Emma Stone is just amazing. I became a total fanboy after seeing this. Many of us grew up watching Super Bad and to see how far she's come is awesome. I'm just talking about her ability to emote facially. I mean, as a filmmaker or a wannabe filmmaker, this is the type of person you dream of working with. She brings lines of dialogue to life like only she can. And when we get to see her in extreme closeup, her eyes isolated from the rest of the scene, you can't help but realize she's a master. Her style is straight up enchanting, bro.

[00:04:11]Reason number five, Jesse Clemens. Whoa, dude. Connect. The way he delivers a line is so pure and consistent. He never overplays anything, and even the weirdest words, of which there are many in this film, roll out of his mouth completely naturally. Jesse has an awesome face. It reminds me of Clint Eastwood. When we see him close up, we start to analyze every crease and crevice. Things he does with his eyes tell more about the story than the actual dialogue in the scene. And his entire character, Teddy, really comes to life through his relationship with his cousin Donnie, who he says he loves very much and really only wants the best for.

[00:04:56]But you have to analyze Teddy and Donniey's relationship throughout the film because it allows you to see behind the film and into their past together.

[00:05:04]Their dialogue is what tells it.

[00:05:07]Reason number six, editing. Beonia's editor, Yorgos Mavseras, that's Yorgos number two, by the way, certainly knows how to edit for suspense without overdoing it.

[00:05:23]Like when Teddy is about to abduct Michelle and she has to get the key into the lock before he jumps on her. That is classic Hollywood cinema. But notice how short it is. We only get to feel that extreme suspense for a couple seconds.

[00:05:38]This makes the pacing feel very quick, which is great for an abduction scene.

[00:05:43]Notice how Teddy is the one abducting here. [clears throat] The entire movie is edited for a pretty fast feel. It only slows down for certain dialogue and some flashbacks to Teddy and his mom, played by the amazing Alicia Silverstone, who for some reason is perfect for this role. I'm clueless about it. We also get a few really cool jump scare cuts, which are only jump scares because of the sound they come with. It's loud sound design, which I do enjoy. One of them is the first time we see Teddy's past, which is shown in black and white, which I think is really cool. I love Copala, so if you love Copala, you have to appreciate a cut to black and white. This was a really hard time for Teddy, and it makes him into this paranoid internet hound that he's become. He's very intelligent and sensitive, and we learn all that from what we see, not what they say.

[00:06:41]That's the beauty of cinema, I guess.

[00:06:43]I'm including the black and white element in the editing portion of this video. It's really good. We get to see these black and white cuts and it sets a completely different and a new tempo.

[00:06:55]We get to reset and then we come back to color, back to the film's reality, so to speak.

[00:07:02]Reason number seven, the locations feel real.

[00:07:07]This is something that Kubric movies have a knack for. All of the locations in Beonia feel very realistic. Sometimes when you see the interior of a house in a film, it feels small, fake. It makes you think of a film set.

[00:07:21]Cinematographers will try to use a shot placed low to the floor with a wide lens to make the rooms appear larger, but if you know better, it can take you out of it. In Beonia, the inside of Teddy's home, Michelle's office building, Teddy's warehouse job, even the Goodwill thrift shop Teddy and Donnie visit, those are real locations, and they make this immense story feel very indie, for lack of a better term. And that raw, real style gets juxtaposed by massive, sweeping sci-fi orchestral themes and imagery. It's a part of this film's atmosphere. And that basement, I'm not sure if it's a set or a real basement, but it's perfectly done.

[00:08:02]Especially this shot framed through the steps leading to the basement that seemed to mimic the feel of a beehive, especially when you consider this honeycomb pattern on the insulation that I noticed. This level of detail definitely heightens the film overall, bringing it into what I call masterpiece territory.

[00:08:23]Reason number eight, alternate film format.

[00:08:28]This film is shot on a special film format and Variety did a piece on this stating the film format is called Vistavision 35mm. Unlike standard 35 millimeter which moves film vertically, Vista Vision moves the film horizontally allowing for an eightpf frame that is twice as large resulting in exceptional resolution, depth, and texture.

[00:08:55]The aspect ratio 150 to1.

[00:09:00]The film uses a 3:2 ratio similar to traditional photography, which is both wide and tall, tailored to focus on the character's isolation and at times claustrophobic environment rather than a broad epic spectrum of, you know, widescreen.

[00:09:17]The special look, this results in a sharp yet slightly surreal and unsettling image. The 1.5:1 ratio is used to highlight vertical elements contributing to a tight, intimate, and often unsettling atmosphere. To me, this format is relevant today as well because so many people who will end up seeing and loving the film are used to watching things in vertical format, which is a tall narrow format like Vista Vision. Uh, as I write this, I'm realizing, wow, this might be the film format or digital idea of uh, the future. We like vertical videos.

[00:09:55]Let's not lie. We're used to them by now, right? So, I wonder if more directors will choose this format moving forward.

[00:10:02]Maybe one day a movie screen will be a vertical screen. We'll flip it. Reason number nine. It's funny. People are calling this a black comedy, and I think that's an apt description, but why can't it just be a comedy? A comedy is just something intended to make us laugh. And this thing is hilarious. It's also gripping and emotional, but it's still funny. Kind of like, you know, life. We also get to see the lovely and wickedly talent and standup comic little Stavy Halchus stepping up into a big boy role.

[00:10:32]Look at Stav go, boy. He's really something else in this movie. Emma Stone is also really funny and she knows comedy. I mean, this is the Super Bad Girl, remember? It's always nice when a film mimics the emotions we feel daily.

[00:10:46]We usually laugh, you know, at least once a day. We find things funny. And there are some straightup jokes in the movie delivered mostly by Emma Stone, also Stavi. It kind of reminded me of the comedy of Clockwork Orange, where the jokes lend a hand at softening the blow of the more graphic scenes.

[00:11:04]Reason number 10, sci-fi meets comedy horror.

[00:11:09]The number of comedic sci-fi films that have come out of Hollywood over the years is staggering, but I think this one is going to end up right up there with The Fifth Element. And mind you, you probably won't agree with me if you've only seen previews of this thing.

[00:11:23]I love how this movie feels like 2001 meets a weird buddy comedy. And I'm saying that that contributes to its masterpiece status as well. Again, I can't help but think of A Clockwork Orange when I think of Beonia. Don't forget Clockwork is sci-fi, too, being that it's a future setting at the time that it was written. Dude, go see this movie. It's on Netflix. Now, make sure it's turned up very loud and that you're very close to the screen because this thing deserves your attention. I hope I can see this in a theater one day. This has been the NMRW. I'm Joe and I think I have some more Beonia content in the works because I really like the sound design in this movie as well. Have a great day and thanks for tuning in.

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