Bug

BUG is a creepy psychological horror yarn directed by William Friedkin, the man behind such '70s classics as THE EXORCIST and THE FRENCH CONNECTION. Is this film in the same league as those films of yester-year? Not by a long shot. While the premise has a great deal of promise behind it, by the end this is a huge disappointment, a film that sacrifices disturbing realism for over-the-top theatrics by the climax, which is a real shame.

Theatrics is appropriate, as in the end this turns out to be adapted from a stage play, as evinced by the single-room setting. The first half is quirky and unusual, as we watch the film wondering how it's going to turn out. It flirts with a lot of themes and genres, without ever being easily pigeon-holed into a single one. Is it a psychological study of madness? Is it a creature feature horror flick? Is it a study of domestic violence, a romance, a two-hander character piece? It's all of those, but by the end the intense script falls apart and ends up tackling over-the-top sci-fi themes and becoming somewhat laughable.

One thing that does keep you watching is the calibre of the acting, which is top dollar. Ashley Judd is a fine piece of casting as the put-upon, run-down heroine, and she lends this film a sense of gravitas that would have otherwise been missing. Michael Shannon is a scene-stealer, his quirky, paranoid war veteran one of the most charming performances I've seen in the past few years, and there's a neat extended cameo from Harry Connick Jr, too.

The film has plenty of strong moments, a few bits of nasty violence, and a rather silly climax. It all mixes together into a rather unsatisfactory brew by the end, but hey, at least it's different.

I'll just come out and say it – I love this movie. But is it a movie? I can't really answer that. Honestly, this doesn't really feel or play out like a movie but maybe that's just me. Keep a few things in mind: this is based on a stage play, the screenplay was written by the author of the play, Friedkin is a big fan of the play, and the lead (Michael Shannon) is from the original production of the stage play. Got that? Good. You know how they say Sam Mendes brings "theater" to the "big screen" (and I say F that) - well, BUG is how theater should exist on film. I don't know, maybe I'm over analyzing. But while I'm over analyzing I'll throw this out there - Michael Shannon gives one of the best performances I've seen in a long time. And screw it - Ashley Judd really surprised me in this too. Harry Connick Jr. is a little dead weight but you can't win 'em all Harry. Mix some old Cronenberg with a pinch of Lynch (can I coin that?), throw it on an Off Broadway stage and see what sticks, then have Friedkin direct it and you've got BUG.

I've never been a Friedkin fan and I can live without an "Exorcist" DVD.

"Bug" depicts another kind of possession ,and it shows paranoia as few other movies did (Polanski did it in "the tenant " in 1976).The performances are great ;Ashley Judd plays a part few of her peers would dare: she is matched every step of the way by Michael Shannon .Both,towards the end,reach the extreme limit and their shouting voices are hardly intelligible.From the very start,Judd seems jaded,tired of the world,with no reason to live .

Even when you feel safe,you know there's an impending menace ;today we live in a world where nobody can say "it won't happen to me" .The Army experiments (a subject which was already broached in the brilliant "Jacob's ladder" ) are only an alibi ,and anyway,are they real?We see danger where there isn't any and we swallow a pill to soothe our fears .One blip (here a tiny bug) is enough to bring everything grinding to the halt... or to trigger madness ,a madness which will know no bounds .

I really don't know what to make of Bug, William Friedkin's bizarre tale of either delusional paranoia OR a sinister government plot to control the masses through the use of genetically engineered parasitic insects: it's certainly one of the strangest and most perplexing films I've seen in recent years, Friedkin messing with his viewers' heads so that they become as unsure about what is reality as the central characters. It was certainly a far cry from what I would call 'enjoyable', particularly when viewed as a study of mental illness ('harrowing' would be a better description), and the film's pacing is tortuously slow at times. 'Interesting' is a better descriptor...

Solid performances aside, where Bug scores most points in my eyes is in never resolving its many questions, leaving the viewer to pore over what has happened, dissect the evidence, and come to their own conclusion about what they have just witnessed. Although it seems probable that Peter and Agnes were seriously messed in the head and imagining the whole infestation, one cannot say this with absolute certainty; besides, sometimes its more fun to simply believe the less likely explanation.

The loser and lonely waitress Agnes (Ashley Judd) lives in a cheap motel in Okalahoma grieving the disappearance of her beloved son Lloyd ten years ago. Her abusive ex-husband Jerry Goss (Harry Connick Jr.) has just left prison on probation and is insistently calling her. When her colleague and only friend, the lesbian RC (Lynn Collins), brings her drifter acquaintance Peter Evans (Michael Shannon) to visit her, they have an affair and Peter stays with Agnes in her room. Peter finds bugs in their bed, and discloses to Agnes that he was a soldier in the Gulf War submitted to experiments by the army and presently he is infested with bugs. Agnes feels the same symptoms and the couple believes in Peter's conspiracy theory of the American government.

"Bug" is a weird low-budget movie, set practically in one location, about paranoia and schizophrenia. The unpleasant story is very well acted, and Ashley Judd surprised me with a great interpretation of a lonely woman with a tragedy behind that feels attracted by a gentle man with delusional paranoia and schizophrenia tendency brilliantly performed by Michael Shannon. This movie is not bad, but it is absolutely predictable; I was disappointed since I expected a surprising twist in the end that never happens. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Possuídos" ("Possessed")