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Bug
(2007)
 
Marketed as a disturbing horror film, Bug is actually a
psychological drama. However, it's not a particularly good one. It's
too talky by far and it turns ridiculous in the third act. Good
performances by its cast aren't enough to overcome its numerous flaws.
Agnes (Ashley Judd) lives in a seedy motel in rural Oklahoma and works
as a cocktail waitress at a roadhouse that caters to lesbians. When
the film begins, she's living in fear that her abusive ex-husband
Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.) will find her now that he's been released
from prison. One night, her lesbian biker friend R.C. (Lynn Collins)
introduces her to a shy drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon), who
soon becomes Agnes' lover. When Peter wakes up one night to find bug
bites on his skin, he's convinced that the room is infested with bugs
coming from inside his body.
Screenwriter Tracy Letts faithfully adapts his own stage play and
early on it looks like it could turn into an interesting film, but
it's never able to escape its stage origins. It's slightly over an
hour and a half of people mostly talking. Worse, the motivations of
some of the characters seem to change on a whim, so it's hard to believe
what they're doing. It's not so bad in the first two acts thanks to
the quality acting, but the third act makes it impossible to continue
suspending one's disbelief. Veteran director William Friedkin (The
French Connection, The Exorcist) keeps it from feeling too stagey
through good use of camera movements that open things up, but sadly
it's a disappointing effort from a filmmaker whose best days are well
behind him.
Cinematographer Michael Grady (Factory Girl) keeps the film visually
interesting, using lighting to signify changes in time and to reflect
the psychological states of the characters. Production designer
Franco-Giacomo Carbone (Cabin Fever, Rocky Balboa) really only
has one set to work with, but he turns it into a realistic place that
takes on an increasingly disturbing quality as the story progresses.
Judd delivers a strong performance, even if the script doesn't always
make her actions believable, grabbing hold of her character and not
letting go until the third act, when her performance jumps the tracks
along with the rest of the film. Shannon, who originated his role on
stage, is compelling as the shy drifter who may be dangerously
delusional, and his outbursts are frightening in their sudden
intensity. Connick is excellent as a charming but abusive ex-con,
making us believe that Agnes would have fallen for him in the first
place and that she would now be terrified of him. Collins is also
good as R.C. and, truth be told, there's far more chemistry between
Judd and Collins than between Judd and Shannon. Irish actor Brian F.
O'Byrne has a bizarre turn as Peter's doctor, but the problem is how
the character is written than O'Byrne himself.
One suspects that Lionsgate used a deceptive marketing campaign
because that was the only way they were going to get an audience for a
filmed version of an off-Broadway play that's not scary, not
psychologically or philosophically deep, and which leaves one not
quite sure of what the point was. Not recommended.
-Danielle
Ní Dhighe
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2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
William
Friedkin
Writer: Tracy
Letts
Starring: Ashley
Judd, Michael Shannon, Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne, Harry Connick
Jr.
Distributor: Lions
Gate Films
Runtime: 102
min
Rating: R
Release Date: May
25, 2007
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