Conspiracy theories used to be fun.
Fodder for ’90s television like “The X-Files” and History Channel documentaries, they played into the lingering mistrust of post-Watergate America. Still, these ideas felt silly enough to be waved away by mainstream audiences. But the idea that the truth—a real truth—was out there and being withheld by shadowy gatekeepers has steadily taken root over the last 30 years. Sift through our current discourse and you will find the concept influencing everything from the news media to the highest levels of government.
So when “Bugonia,” the new thriller coming to The Triplex this week, dives down the rabbit hole, the craziest thing about it is how normal it all feels. We ride along with Teddy and Don, two cousins who plan to abduct Michelle, the CEO of a biomedical company, whom they believe to be an alien sent to destroy the Earth.
Boxed in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Director Yorgos Lanthimos keeps things stark and simple, focusing on the dynamic showdown between Emma Stone’s Michelle and Jesse Plemons’ Teddy. Lanthimos holds his cards close, leaving the audience to study every darting stare and facial tic exchanged between captor and prisoner to discern where the truth lies.
No matter how its plot unfolds—Michelle is either an alien sent to destroy Earth or merely an amoral executive ruining lives in a more banal, acceptable way—there is no happy ending coming. But strangely, “Bugonia” feels like Lanthimos’s most optimistic film yet after exercises in discomfort like “The Lobster,” “The Favourite,” and “Poor Things.”
While those films saw a director confronting his audience with life’s ugly truths, “Bugonia” reads like a plea to break free of the doomed mindset that increasingly feels like the status quo. We have to do something, anything, to save this world—no matter how crazy it may seem.
Now Playing
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
After his breakthrough success with albums “Born to Run,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and “The River,” Bruce Springsteen found himself disconnected from his roots and questioning his place as an artist. What he did next—crafting the stripped-down, intimate album “Nebraska” in his bedroom in New Jersey—is the focus of Director Scott Cooper’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” which sees Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) playing the Boss during this pivotal moment in his career.
“Blue Moon”
The story of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) bravely facing the future as his professional and private life unravel at the opening-night party for his former partner Richard Roger’s (Andrew Scott) hit show “Oklahoma!,” Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon” is a witty look at a creative legend watching the world pass him by. Also featuring Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannivale, do not miss this love letter to the golden age of Broadway!
The New Hard-Boiled: “Klute”
“The New Hard Boiled: The Birth of American Neo-Noir” continues on October 29 and November 1 with “Klute,” Alan J. Pakula’s atmospheric thriller about a private detective (Donald Sutherland) who turns to Bree, a high-priced call girl (Jane Fonda, in an Oscar-winning role), to help find a missing person who may also be her stalker. Swirling with the Watergate-era paranoia that became Pakula’s trademark with movies like “The Parallax View” and “All the President’s Men,” don’t miss your chance to see this classic noir on the big screen!
October 29, at 7 p.m. and November 1, at 5 p.m.
“Impact in the Berkshires: Creating a Vibrant Community”
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDCSB) brings Yonah Sadeh’s “Impact in the Berkshires: Creating a Vibrant Community,” a new short documentary exploring the way access to affordable housing affects every aspect of life in the southern Berkshires, to The Triplex on November 3! After the screening, join members of CDCSB for a discussion about the film and solutions to our affordable housing crisis.
November 3, at 7 p.m.
The New Hard-Boiled: “The Long Goodbye”
Robert Altman brought Raymond Chandler’s iconic detective Philip Marlowe into the murky morality of the ’70s in “The Long Goodbye,” playing November 5 and 8 as part of our series “The New Hard-Boiled: The Birth of American Neo-Noir.” After helping his friend Terry (Jim Bouton) cross the border to Mexico, Marlowe returns to Los Angeles only to learn that Terry’s wife has been murdered—and that Terry has taken his own life while on the run. When Marlowe takes a new case from a beautiful blond (Nina van Pallandt) who has a past with Terry, he soon realizes things are not as simple as they seem.
Wednesday, November 5, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 8, at 5 p.m.
Coming Soon
“The History of Sound”
Two young men (Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor) set out to create audio recordings of their fellow countrymen in the aftermath of WWI—and end up developing a love that spans ages in “The History of Sound.” Director Oliver Hermanus (“Living”) crafts a beautiful period romance framed around staggering performances from rising stars Mescal and O’Connor in this moving story of love, loss, and the music that binds us together.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “The History of Sound” plays for one week starting on November 7.
BIFF presents: “Wunderkinder”
BIFF celebrates its upcoming 20th anniversary festival with an encore screening of Marcus O. RosenmĂĽller’s “Wunderkinder”! Co-writer Stephen Glantz will be in attendance for a Q&A following this tale of three exceptionally talented children who develop a deep friendship in Ukraine in 1941, overcoming their different religions and nationalities through their love of music. But when Germany invades the Soviet Union, their world is turned upside down as the insanity of the world imperils their friendship—and their lives.
November 9, at 3 p.m.
The New Hard-Boiled: “Chinatown”
Set in the 1940s but filled with the cynicism of the ’70s, “Chinatown” continues our series “The New Hard-Boiled: The Birth of American Neo-Noir” on November 12 and 15. When Los Angeles private eye J.J. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband’s activities, he believes it is a routine infidelity case. Jake’s investigation soon becomes anything but routine when he meets the real Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and realizes he was hired by an imposter. Mr. Mulwray’s sudden death sets Gittes on a tangled trail of corruption, deceit, and sinister family secrets as Evelyn’s father (John Huston) becomes a suspect in the case.
Wednesday, November 12, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 15, at 5 p.m.
