Director Luca Guadagnino who previously brought us Call Me By Your Name and the Suspiria remake, captures a vision that collides both of these genre styles into one brilliant coming-of-age horror drama. Perhaps it’s not even a horror drama. Maybe it’s a romantic nightmare.
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The film centers on an 18-year-old named Maren, played by the somewhat newcomer Taylor Russell (Waves). Maren has a soft loving demeanor about her. A type of teenager that certainly displays more vulnerability than showcased. However, we are then introduced to the other side of Maren. The side that makes her crave human flesh for consumption.
Since the days of Fantastic Fest, this reviewer has seen the film twice. In both viewings, the audience belted an audible gasp when the first introduction to Maren as a cannibal occurs. The film approaches the subject in the form of fantasy, much like vampires. Maren, as stated by her father (André Holland) through cassette recordings, has been feeding on humans since she was an infant. The father even mentions of a time she feasted on a babysitter and explains the aftermath of cleaning the chaotic mess up in vivid detail.
Maren all alone with nothing but her father’s voice on a portable cassette player is a drifter in the wind. Her need to feed has pushed away any family she had left. That is until she encounters others just like her. Others have the same cravings. The first person is a cannibalistic older man named Sully, played by an unforgettable Mark Rylance (Ready Player One). The performance by Rylance is absolutely perfect in every way. He projects safety while giving stranger danger vibes in a balanced manner. It should not work as well as it does but Rylance is a seasoned performer.
There is a moment in the film where Mark Rylance with his extended ponytail is walking around casually around a house in tighty whities with blood drenching his face. By that point, the viewer is either on this movie’s wavelength or they have clocked out.
Soon after, Maren meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), a scrappy teen on the road trying to find himself, just like her. It’s from here, Bones and All enters the romance stages of its story. The two of them do have amazing chemistry but admittingly, the jump between Lee’s introduction to the two of them falling in love is a bit rushed. But it’s elevated through Russell and Chalamet’s emotional spark together.
As Maren and Lee take a road trip and devour various victims along the way, victims that Lee deems as toxic human beings worth killing, cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan captures an ’80s America that feels broken and tattered. Various locations have worn down infrastructure, including housing units that seem to be falling apart and rustic. The photography feels almost documentarian but beautifully shot. It’s hard to say whether the filmmakers or the novel are trying to say something about 1980s America. Either way, the poverty atmosphere adds to the themes of addiction and pain.
Thematically, addiction is riddled throughout the experience of Bones and All. Both Lee and Maren crave something they do not want. Mark Rylance’s character explains to Maren she has to feed eventually and they do so by breaking into someone’s house. Maren has a back story involving a parent being just like her. And that parent suffered from the same ailment. One can find similarities to addiction being (allegedly) genetic as well as the dependency being passed down while pregnant. There is even a conversation involving the title “bones and all” that heavily implies the ultimate drug-like experience.
While Bones and All is cinematically grounded, the intention of the direction is continually hinted that this is a fantasy or fairy tale. Throughout the road trip, Maren is reading fantasy novels including one by J.R.R. Tolkien. There is another moment in the movie where one of the characters has an old photo of themselves wearing a Peter Pan costume (or maybe it was Robin Hood). The subtle touches of these moments make it feel like director Luca Guadagnino is whispering, “welcome to Neverland.”
Bones and All is quite simply a masterpiece. It blends so many elements into one grotesque and powerful film. There are moments that are slow-building in pacing and the violence will not be for the faint of heart. Because of this, Bones and All will not be for everyone. This being said, there is nothing like this movie. It’s not every day someone successfully blends romance, horror, fantasy, and cannibalism, then tosses them into a coming-of-age road trip. And for the boldness alone, it should be rewarded.
Bones and All hits theaters on November 23.
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