Bones and All

Bones and All

Abandoned by her father, a young woman named Maren embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets Lee, a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 131 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance
  • Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny, André Holland, Francesca Scorsese, David Gordon Green, Anna Cobb, Max Soliz, Kendle Coffey, Johanna McGinley, Hannah Barlow, Claudio Encarnacion Montero, Sue Hopkins, Brady Gentry
  • Director: Luca Guadagnino
 Comments
  • ninjawaiter - 14 June 2024
    The real horror is the people who liked it
    A perfect film for a society not just lacking morals, but which actively rejects morals, and thus the moral authority to object to abject evil.

    The protagonists of this film are evil. That much is mundane. There are plenty of films about evil people. It's not that the protagonists are evil, although that in itself is a bad sign (Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill aren't the protagonists, and with good reason). It's the way this film treats their evil as if it were not evil; as if it were morally grey, somehow excusable, and the audience should just set all that aside and focus on the coming-of-age road trip love story.

    The sorts of people who would enjoy this film are the sorts of people you do not want to associate with. They're the kind of people who look at death row inmates and think their version of, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." If only their life's circumstances had been different... They're the sorts of people who wouldn't have blinked living next to Dachau. They're the kind of people behind every genocide in history; maybe not the ones who personally cave in the skulls, but the ones who cheer it on, or quietly support it.

    People who empathize with evil generally think of themselves as "compassionate", because that sounds a lot nicer than acknowledging that they are evil themselves, hence their empathy for evil. That's what this film is. I hope you didn't appreciate it.
  • snoducky - 15 May 2024
    Bones And All
    Good start rushed ending.

    The movie had all the key elements but didn't use them correctly. The concept was unique and shown in a realistic way, however I find it strange that they never go caught for their deeds. The acting was on point, you good feel the tension and connection between characters as if they're actually immersed in the story. However some scenes were just irrelevant to the story and it's a shame that the ending didn't really show their possibility to thrive in a normal lifestyle. Overall a solid film with highs and lows, however still manages to engage the audience. Worth watching.
  • dslr88 - 22 January 2024
    A bare bones movie
    Had high expectations coming into this with a quality cast like that. The movie left me somewhat wanting though. This romantic story has a cannibalism theme which is novel but the main issue here is the slow pace. The movie has horror and gore but was too slow for this viewer and it came off as being more boring than anything else despite strong performances by the leads. Timothee Chalamet and Taylor Russell are great but the dead slow pace lets it all down. It is watchable and might provide a quality few hours for some. For everybody else maybe just lower your expectations and you might enjoy it.
  • butlersean-07359 - 6 January 2023
    Life's never dully
    The movie was brilliant. Lots of movies try to prove a point or follow the character(s) as they achieve this amazing goal and become a hero. This one doesn't. I seen one comment in particular here saying a flaw was that none of the characters have a purpose. Well here's a newsflash: It can be hard to find a purpose! The characters are nonconsensual cannibals and they are struggling with it. They can't find a way out because they're all too traumatized by the things they done and how society has reacted. Perhaps a happy ending could have been if a scientific solution was found to their predicament but I don't think that would have made a good movie. I laughed at it too therefore it's a comedy/romance/horror in my book and they nailed it.
  • mphonkd - 30 December 2022
    I hated it, then loved it and now obsessed with it.
    Having followed this film on its promo tour, I was excited to finally watch it. The first time I did, I was infuriated with its editing team that cut down all the scenes we had been teased with to 2 seconds on screen. The relationship between its principal characters felt rushed, Maren and Lee becoming affectionate too soon after their first encounter. The plot felt weak considering the talent and range of its cast.

    However, after seeing it the first time, I missed it and rewatched the film. The second time, I took in the sweeping cinematography, authentic performances, the set pieces, artful direction and a quiet that transported one to a simpler time.

    Bones and All is in many ways a masterpiece. Luca Guadagnino is meticulous and careful in his work, the kind of director whose projects ultimately make good teaching material for film students.

    Taylor Russell is a refreshing presence, delivering a performance with a subtlety and honesty that settles you in. She manages to fashion a character arc where there is none and is so pleasant to watch, you'll hardly feel time go by. She redefines the female lead, ditching the archetype of the masculine woman and instead embracing the softness and determination of femininity that ultimately wins the day. She's 28 but felt 18,and so did we again, when we were vulnerable, awkward and often involuntarily rebellious. Her performance is one I hope does not get overlooked by award overlords.

    Timothee Chalamet is an excellent co-pilot. He plays a character who the audience is relieved to have as a companion on this road trip and displays a tenderness wrapped in mature masculinity, crafting a character who is imperfect but healthy in many ways. The story did his character more justice, allowing him to unearth his past, address the trauma, find love but ultimately be punished for his deeds at the end. Though his arc felt more complete, Chalamet still deserved stronger material for the skill he brought to this project.

    Mark Rylance also needs to be commended for the direction he took with his character Sully, an older gentleman experienced in his way of life but in many ways a child who has not mastered the secrets of love and friendship. Sully is a young woman's worst nightmare - cunning, knowledgeable and volatile. He is a vile character but his loneliness makes him oddly charming. And once back in your everyday life, you find yourself singing an eerily familiar tune:

    "Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes..."

    The rest of the cast, though they had smaller roles, delighted with their memorable appearances and lended much gravitas to the film. Bravo!

    All in all, Bones and All is enjoyable because of what it does right. However, it leaves you longing for an extended cut that allows the audience to indulge in the film's love story. Russell and Chalamet have chemistry from the gods and it was a shame that their raw talent was somewhat wasted and performances sacrificed by both brutal editing and a lean plot.
  • michaelsiphone - 28 December 2022
    Not my Taste
    Bones and All is a 2022 romantic horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    Sort of. 😕

    Such a gruesome subject matter and definitely not my taste in a movie. And I'd recommend not to watch it while having a meal...

    Abandoned by her father, a young woman named Maren embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets Lee, a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
  • zeuthuk - 25 December 2022
    6.3 out of 10 - Mostly boring and dull
    It's basically a film about a girl who discovers shes a cannibal and goes on a road trip of self discovery.

    The first 15 mins are dark with a little tension but instead of building on this it falls flat. The whole film lacks atmosphere and feels depressing.

    During the road trip she meets some interesting characters and falls in love. Unfortunately the dark characters only get limited scenes but had the potential to create something frightening.

    The romance part is so flat as if you are swimming underwater. The couple really lack chemistry and neither are likeable. It's like two different films that have been chopped together.

    If you are looking for a horror film then this really falls flat and you should look elsewhere.

    Some of the reviews feel pretentious and try to make this into more than what it is. Most people just want to be entertained and this struggles and becomes boring and dull.
  • eddie_baggins - 20 December 2022
    An ambitious coming of age romance with a difference
    An undoubtedly ambitious undertaking, critically lauded director Luca Guadagnino can't be accused of taking the easy route here alongside his screenwriter David Kajganich, as the two adapt Camille DeAngelis cannibal themed road trip romance/coming of age tale that will likely engross (and gross out) some viewers and bore and confuse others.

    Transporting DeAngelis's source material to the 1980's, Bones and All centres around Waves breakout star and future megastar Taylor Russell's Maren, who finds herself abandoned by her long supportive father due to the fact she has a curious taste in desires and wants, needs that have ensured the teenager has lived anything but a normal life, a life she soon discovers is shared by others including Timothée Chalamet's in need of some new jeans Lee, Mark Rylance's unnervingly tilted Sully and a scene-stealing Michael Stuhlbarg in a polar opposite turn from the one we last saw in his prior collaboration with Guadagnino in Call Me by Your Name.

    Holding back nothing, with Bones and All more gruesome and confronting than an unsuspecting viewer might initially expect, Guadagnino throws Maren and we the viewers headfirst into a bizarre world that at times may feel familiar but at other times totally foreign, as Maren and Lee strike up a curious friendship turned romance that acts as some type of flesh eating Badlands that touches on various heavy themes with enough weight for multiple narratives.

    Throughout Guadagnino's road trip venture the work of Russell and Chalamet is at all times top-class and it will be hard for many too forget the sight of a shuffling Rylance bloodied in his underwhites anytime soon, while as you would expect from a film under the guidance of the Italian director, Bones and All is as pretty as a picture with the typically unique and gripping score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross amongst some of their best work as it sets about to enhance the picture it supports but there's a key element missing from this left of centre tale that holds it back from becoming the romantic masterpiece with a difference it wanted to be.

    For various reasons, reasons that don't identify one key instigator to it all, the central romance between Maren and Lee never sparks the way in which one would've hoped for and while the work of its performers isn't to fault, we're never drawn in under a spell that sometimes works its magic on audiences in other such star-crossed lovers tales and while those that jump on board with the film will find intrigue and shocks in Maren and Lee's journey of discovery, it's unfortunate Bones and All's heart doesn't beat as powerfully as it was planned for.

    Final Say -

    Likely to enrapture as much as it alienates, Bones and All is worthwhile attempt at creating a romance with a difference but not the all-timer it might have been, even if the work of Taylor Russell here showcases the early stages of a budding superstar.

    3 1/2 pairs of past their prime jeans out of 5

    Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)
  • zeljka-56697 - 18 December 2022
    Movie that will make you think... what have i seen
    WOW!

    The 600 characters are not enough to describe this movie. What you say and not to spoil the movie. Well let's say that soundtrack is great, the story is weird, strong, puzzling your mind.

    The acting is well done, and. Timothee Chalamet is once again out of this world, best young actor by far.

    What is this movie about? Well it is not "horror movie" you seen before, and it is not normal drama movie with some dark elements, it is something, well something else.

    Yes, there is cannibalism in this movie, and yet, it is not that scary, more then that, it is so dark and twisted that you will be shocked from begining, nothing is "NORMAL" in this movie.

    There is not much twist at the end, but i can bet non of you would expect ending like that. It is just sad, again weird and somehow not finished.

    This movie will finish after 2h and will make you want more, will make you think about it, and tell your friends about it, because it is unseen Masterpiece.
  • rvgillam-44732 - 16 December 2022
    Lacks bite and purpose.
    The story feels incomplete and unexplained.

    What really bothered me is why the father abandoned her all of a sudden. After dealing with several incidents while she was younger. That part seemed unrealistic to me. He dealt with it all that time and even covered up some of the incidents but the biting of the finger was the last straw for some reason. I wish that dynamic would have been explored some more and also why the mother was tge way she was.

    On top of this the ending was anticlimactic and kind of a downer, leaving the viewers to draw their own conclusions to what became of the main character. I despise those kind of endings. Didn't work for me. Entertaining movie, but definitely lacking cohesiveness and a thorough plot.