Bones and All review.
Settle in for a road trip romance/journey of self-discovery/cannibal drama. Bones and All puts a lot on its plate (I will do my best to not pun my way through the review for once) but gives everything the time to breathe. Maybe too much time.
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Bones and All
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Screenplay by David Kajganich
Starring Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet and Mark Rylance
Bones and All Review
There’s a moment in Bones and All where I started to wonder what the movie was ultimately going to be about. There was still another 40 minutes left in the story and I’m not sure my question was ever answered. It’s a road trip movie that takes the “journey is the worthier part” approach to reaching its destination. I questioned if that was true on more than one occasion.
Maren (Taylor Russell) must flee town after her cannibal instincts get her into trouble. She sets out to find her long lost mother with only a name and the town she was born in. Along the way she runs into others like her and discovers more about what she is and what life is like for people like her. Lee (Timothee Chalamet) joins her on her journey and the two form a bond.
Bones and All dabbles in a lot of genres. At times a teen romance…at times a horror movie. It combines the drama of a coming-of-age love story with scenes of violence and madness. Each aspect is lovingly crafted. Let’s start there.
Russell and Chalamet are terrific. They have a natural chemistry, and the film’s romance beats work as a result. Their relationship comprises the bulk of Bones and All. Both have had a tough life. Both have had family issues. Maren is trying to resolve hers…Lee suppresses his. As this is a cannibal movie (eaters, as they’re called) not all of their relationship roadblocks are traditional ones. Lee is much easier going about his cannibal lifestyle than Maren who is struggling with the entire concept.
Mark Rylance shows up early as a cannibal who shows Maren the ropes. He’s a mix of caring and creepy. He delivers the early exposition in Bones and All. Rylance gives such an interesting performance that you don’t even think about it as it happens.
Other characters we meet don’t stick around too long. The most interesting pair we spend far too little time with. Maren and Lee come across eaters who are far more into the lifestyle than anyone else we’ve met. One of them wasn’t born a cannibal…and has instead chosen to live as one. Exploring his story could have made for a fascinating detour at a time when the movie really needs one. Unfortunately, we find ourselves right back on the road in no time. If you’ll excuse one pun…the movie leaves a lot of meat on the bone.
The practical gore is quite effective. There is a lot more blood in Bones and All than you’ll find in a Nicholas Sparks movie. It doesn’t shy away from watching characters get their grub on. The scenes add moments of shock to break up some monotony on the road.
The film is gorgeous to look at. It takes its time and fills the screen with the scenery Maren and Lee pass through on their journey. Taking its time is something that Bones and All does a lot of. It’s not a pacing issue. The movie has a consistent pace…a slow one. It’s likely that the intent is to make you feel as lost as Maren feels in the moment…and in that way it succeeds.
Where Bones and All doesn’t fully succeed is in its third act. It wanders away from, and then circles back to, what we’ve been building towards. Again, there is a narrative reason for doing it…but after watching leads go nowhere for so long the last thing the movie needed was to take a prolonged break. Maren is lost and confused so we are meant to feel that too. Strangely, it’s here that the movie chooses to employ a bit of a time jump which undoes the feeling anyway. Things get back on track for the climax and ultimate ending.
Bones and All is a movie that you may love. You’re unlikely to find a better made cannibal love story. Issues I had with choices not taking the most entertaining route won’t affect everyone. If you’re into romance stories you probably won’t care. It’s easy to understand why it’s received acclaim due to the filmmaking craft and performances of the lead actors. I respect all of that. What’s here is a good movie. If it reached some of its destinations a faster and didn’t get caught in a late-stage roundabout…it could have been a great one.
Scare Value
It’s tough to review a movie like Bones and All. It’s a movie that is going to add up differently to everyone who watches it. If you’re into romance…that’s here. If you’re into some bloody cannibal chow downs…that’s here too. Adding them together is probably the most interesting aspect of the movie. The Venn diagram of cannibal movie lover and romance movie lovers probably doesn’t have a massive overlap. I’m not sure there is enough to fully satisfy either camp. It is always great to see scenes of horror in a movie marketed towards people who wouldn’t traditionally seek it out. The filmmaking and performances are high quality.
3/5
