Bones and All (2022)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Written by David Kajganich
Starring Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg
Release Date November 18th, 2022
Published November 28th, 2022
Cannibalism, eating people. Bones and All follows a small subset of people who are cannibals but not by choice. Maren Yearly (Taylor Russell) was born a cannibal and, as we come to find out, she can't control this desire. Her father helped her manage it for a while and even kept her from realizing her true nature for a time. However, after she snacks on a friend from school, biting off her finger, Dad can't keep her hidden anymore and he's not sure that he should. After bundling her up and setting her up in a new home, he disappears.
Left on her own, Maren has only a few dollars and a tape that her father made explaining the things that have happened that led to him leaving. He also pointed her in the direction of where her mother may be, somewhere in Minnesota. The film is set in the 1980s so no cellphones or internet, and this is a strong choice as a cellphone and internet access would undoubtedly undermine much of Bones and All. Maren's isolation and the few fellow cannibals she's able to meet in person would be less meaningful if she could join a supportive cannibal community on Facebook.
The first cannibal that Maren meets is a true creep. Sully (Mark Rylance), upon meeting Maren, claims that he could smell her from more than a block away. The movie eventually explains that all cannibals are capable of smelling each other but it is an effectively creepy way to introduce Sully, who also talks about himself in the third person. Mark Rylance is an effective horror movie character. He suggests an art-house take on Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2's Chop Top.
Maren does end up spending a night at a house that Sully has staked out. It happens to be the home of an elderly woman who is slowly dying on the floor of her upstairs bedroom while Sully is preparing game hens for dinner. He tells Maren that he feeds on people who he knows are dying, though that is an unsurprising lie. The two share a meal together, if you know what I mean, and then Maren runs off, frightened by Sully's creepy vibe. He's not gone though, unfortunately.
At the next stop of her journey toward Minnesota and the mother she has never known, Maren meets Lee (Timothee Chalamet) after he disposes of a jerk at a store, and covers for her while she shoplifts. Maren uses her newfound sense of smell to determine that Lee is also a cannibal and since they are close in age, Maren feels comfortable getting to know him. This begins a tentative romance, though one troubled by their equal need to feed on human flesh.
I am not sure I understand the point of Bones and All. The film has elements of a horror movie but it isn't scary. The film appears to be aimed as a teen romance but the romance is rather tepid. I can see the artfulness in the direction of Luca Guadagnino, he's a tremendous director. The production design, the evocation of the past without leaning too heavily on obvious signifiers, demonstrate his talent for time and place in his work.
Click here for my full length review of Bones and All at Geeks.Media.
