Bug--Movie Review

Bug, directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), ends up being a great piece for actors Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Harry Connick Jr. (That's the entire cast, if you were wondering). That tends to be the case when a movie is adapted from a stage play, and Bug, adapted by Tracy Letts from his own play, is no exception.

Judd plays Agnes White in her indie mode: a bruised, heavy-drinking loner with a killer instinct for picking the wrong man. When she first takes up with Peter, the drifter played by Shannon, the film seems headed down an all-too familiar (read: Independent Spirit Award) road. Connick, Jr. shows up as Agnes's ex-con ex-husband to give her a few swats and promise to come back real soon, which sends Agnes and Peter into a boots-knocking frenzy of epic (and graphic) proportions.
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Then, Peter notices the first bug. At first Agnes can't see it, but soon she's fighting the infestation with just as much fury as Peter. The transition to Act 2 finds Agnes's rundown motel room home covered in plastic wrap and festooned with flypaper in a visual nod to Sam Shepherd's True West toasters. It's here that Bug thankfully diverges from Americana chamber piece into full-on weirdness--of the riveting kind, thanks to Judd and Shannon's fearlessly outré performances.

That's not to say that Bug is a great movie. The film adaptation never quite transcends, though to Friedkin's credit he doesn't force the issue. He keeps the action almost entirely in Agnes's cramped living quarters, and achieves a sense of claustrophobia that doesn't also feel cramped. He lets the performances dictate the pacing of the film and trusts his actors. Unfortunately, this doesn't make up for the fact that Bug, as a movie, is really just a great stage play.