358. Bones And All; movie review

 

BONES AND ALL

Cert 18

125 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, gore

What's on the menu tonight? Liver? Kidneys? Hearts? Or even a bit of rubbery muscle?

Yep, Bones And All is a right tuck-in, cannibal-style.

But it is also a surprisingly tender love story between two young people who long for a normal life.

Luca Guadagnino's unusual award-chaser stars Taylor Russell as Maren - a teenager taken from town to town by her dad (André Holland) to outrun the police.

You see, every time they are settled, she feels the need for one of her 'feeds'.

She reaches 18 and the poor fella has to let her go her own way because he can no longer handle her need for human flesh, following the lead of her mum (Chloë Sevigny) who departed years previously.

Thus, Maren goes on the road and, for the first time, encounters those who have similar 'needs'.

These include an eccentric (Mark Rylance) who consistently refers to himself in the third person and a boy of similar age (Timothée Chalamet) who has a very simplistic attitude towards 'food'.

Let's be clear, Bones And All is strange. After all, cannibals tend to be villains rather than movie heroes.

It is an offbeat fantasy but not in the way of the usual bloodsucking movies or even films such as Twilight.

Its meat-eating leads don't fear the light, garlic or even a stake through the heart. They are painted as normal people with very abnormal compulsions.

Russell is appealing as a young woman who wants to fit into society while both Rylance and Chalamet give impressive and quirky support.

I guess Guadagnino is attempting to create a metaphor about life's outsiders but I couldn't be sure.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the unconventional, coy romance - however, I must also admit I found the  gruesome diet stomach-churning.

Reasons to watch: Strange but alluring bloodsuckers

Reasons to avoid: The gore

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? Production was affected by break-ins of the crew's vehicles, leading to a request to Cincinnati City Council to provide $50,000 for increased security. While there was criticism over the proposed use of taxpayers' money, the council ultimately passed a measure to grant the funds.

The final word. Taylor Russell: " I think the brilliance of the chrysalis of cannibalism in this film, and all of the themes of this film, is that you can insert it into any sort of frame to break out of. Addiction, mental illness, family trauma, trauma from Covid—it shifts and moves like water to work in all these different worlds to understand those things or to feel seen by (the film)." Slant

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