"Bones and All" follows Maren, a young woman in 1980s Maryland who discovers she has an inherited "curse" of sorts--one that propels her to give into vampiric cannibalism, from which her father attempted to protect her for years. As she attempts to make her way on her own, she becomes emotionally involved with Lee, another "feeder" of her own kind, spurring a romance over a weeks-long period of drifting through the midwest. Naturally, the two leave a trail of blood behind them.
This film marks director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich's follow-up to 2018's "Suspiria" remake, and is based on a novel of the same name (which, for context I have not read--so I cannot really comment on how the film treats its source material). While this is an imperfect film in some ways, I found it particularly enjoyable for the first several acts, largely due to its intoxicating atmosphere, which is probably what this film achieves best above anything else. The period details, dreamy cinematography, and rustic filming locations make the first hour or so of the film particularly engrossing as the two main characters drift through them, leading up to a search for Maren's biological mother.
Aside from the haunting, gothic midwestern locations and cinematography, the film also offers strong performances from all involved. Taylor Russell gives a pointed and intelligent performance as the lead, who is marred by internal conflict and questions about who (and why) she is. Timothee Chalamet plays counterpoint as a troubled but likable youth from the Kentucky rustbelt whom she soon falls in love with, while Michael Rylance gives a disturbed portrayal of another elder eccentric "feeder" who becomes strangely obsessed with Russell's character. Folded into the film's psychological conflicts are some clear metaphors for disenfranchised youth--particularly lost gay teenagers--though the film appreciably does not browbeat this theme.
As the first several acts of the film roll on, the film feels like a 1980s-set take on "Badlands" with a quasi-supernatural twist, and leads up to a chilling confrontation between Russell and Chloë Sevigny, who plays a small (but pivotal) role that is as perplexing as it is haunting. The emotional gravitas of the film unfortunately loses steam as it moves from this peak toward its conclusion, which, though disturbing (and oddly moving), feels somewhat disconnected in tone from what leads up to it. I got the sense that the filmmakers stumbled a bit in the way the finale is telegraphed, and, though it is still emotionally fraught, the material nearly edges too far into speculative teen fiction territory, which it mostly seemed to be working against in the first hour or so.
Despite the somewhat clunky finale, however, I found the film largely absorbing due to its pitch-perfect atmosphere and smart performances. While I have little hope that the film will make a mark in terms of financial success, I do see "Bones and All" having a future in the years to come as a pulpy midnight movie appreciated for its haunting depiction of youth drifting along the fringe of society. 7/10.
This film marks director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich's follow-up to 2018's "Suspiria" remake, and is based on a novel of the same name (which, for context I have not read--so I cannot really comment on how the film treats its source material). While this is an imperfect film in some ways, I found it particularly enjoyable for the first several acts, largely due to its intoxicating atmosphere, which is probably what this film achieves best above anything else. The period details, dreamy cinematography, and rustic filming locations make the first hour or so of the film particularly engrossing as the two main characters drift through them, leading up to a search for Maren's biological mother.
Aside from the haunting, gothic midwestern locations and cinematography, the film also offers strong performances from all involved. Taylor Russell gives a pointed and intelligent performance as the lead, who is marred by internal conflict and questions about who (and why) she is. Timothee Chalamet plays counterpoint as a troubled but likable youth from the Kentucky rustbelt whom she soon falls in love with, while Michael Rylance gives a disturbed portrayal of another elder eccentric "feeder" who becomes strangely obsessed with Russell's character. Folded into the film's psychological conflicts are some clear metaphors for disenfranchised youth--particularly lost gay teenagers--though the film appreciably does not browbeat this theme.
As the first several acts of the film roll on, the film feels like a 1980s-set take on "Badlands" with a quasi-supernatural twist, and leads up to a chilling confrontation between Russell and Chloë Sevigny, who plays a small (but pivotal) role that is as perplexing as it is haunting. The emotional gravitas of the film unfortunately loses steam as it moves from this peak toward its conclusion, which, though disturbing (and oddly moving), feels somewhat disconnected in tone from what leads up to it. I got the sense that the filmmakers stumbled a bit in the way the finale is telegraphed, and, though it is still emotionally fraught, the material nearly edges too far into speculative teen fiction territory, which it mostly seemed to be working against in the first hour or so.
Despite the somewhat clunky finale, however, I found the film largely absorbing due to its pitch-perfect atmosphere and smart performances. While I have little hope that the film will make a mark in terms of financial success, I do see "Bones and All" having a future in the years to come as a pulpy midnight movie appreciated for its haunting depiction of youth drifting along the fringe of society. 7/10.