Taylor Russell (left) as Maren and Timothée Chalamet (right) as Lee in BONES AND ALL, directed by Luca Guadagnino, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Yannis Drakoulidis / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Preston Barta // Features Editor
BONES AND ALL
Rated R, 130 minutes.
Held its regional premiere at Fantastic Fest on Sept. 25. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will release the film on Nov. 23.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – It’s going to be difficult for any film in what remains of 2022 to top the sheer brilliance of Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, adapted from Camille DeAngelis’ novel of the same name. It finds an electric pairing in Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell – who portray Lee and Maren, two young wanderers who fall in love in a world that looks down on their tendency to eat human flesh. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a cannibal love story, one with an extremely sweet tooth and grounded realism that will soon make it a new classic.
While this isn’t the peach-flavored love like in Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, its blood-soaked romance is just as inviting and heartfelt. It may not sound like it on the surface, with your curiosity likely hung up on the human-eating elements, but Bones and All doesn’t let its genre side distract the story from flowing like this organic road movie about two people trying to make sense of who they are and how they’re going to live.
Guadagnino’s vivid work is visually striking, full of images that sometimes shock you while others put you in a trance by feeling more like a film that truly came out in the 1980s, like the era it’s set in. Everything feels worn, dirty and off-center in such a highly specific way. It has glimmers of style that are reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In while also being its own artful entity with a singular voice that’s worth jamming on repeat.
Sure, the film will have you occasionally tuning in through splayed fingers, especially early on when Russell’s Maren eases you into the story like a warm cup of tea before spilling it all over to kick up your ticker with the film’s first scene of violence. However, Guadagnino is very calculated with how he chooses to show these scenes where teeth meet human skin. It’s not in a manner that sends you running in the other direction. Instead, there’s a mystery to it that has you leaning in. Most of the violence comes in flashes, blurs and off screen.
What builds the eerie atmosphere is the sound. What you can’t see, Guadagnino colors the canvas with sonic language. Sometimes, you hear blood sloshing and meat ripping, while other times, the film’s score, beautifully and hauntingly composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, lifts you to the level of fear and heart Bones and All is aiming for from moment to moment. And let’s not forget its fist-pumping needle drops. Three essential tracks may send you on a vinyl hunt following your viewing.
Beyond the film’s style and form, the main reason this film earns your keep is through its performances. From the moment Chalamet enters the frame, with his sharp cheekbones, deep-set eyes and punk-rock Bob Dylan vibe, you cannot look away. He just has it – this commanding presence that is so welcoming, weird and wonderful. Let’s just say there are some moments in this film that should give many viewers new images to print out and tack to their wall. He’s the epitome of cool, rocking curly long locks with pink streaks, open shirts and a small rope to hold up his Huckleberry Finn getup. Ready your excitement for a scene of him dancing around a living room to Kiss.
Then, there’s the genuinely breathtaking Russell, who carries this film from start to finish so magnificently. You feel every ounce of her emotions as she aimlessly drifts around, bumping into all kinds of delicious weirdos. With this and her 2019 film Waves, she’s someone to really keep an eye on.
Speaking of those delicious weirdos (and there are a few surprises along the way), Mark Rylance is just one of the greatest actors ever. Playing a decidedly creepy oddball named Sully (who “is not dully”), Rylance is magnetic. His soft-spoken voice, eccentric look and nightmarish collection of trophies will nestle in your brain and give you something to dream about. Expect some much-deserved awards with what he produces here.
In Bones and All, it’s not the monstrous moments that rattle your innards but rather the mundane ones. This film is based on a novel and plays like one with an approach that feels like classic literature. Guadagnino seems to love the way people cross paths, talk and share their thoughts about what they’ve experienced, and his work is all the more fruitful because of it. You will feel this film’s love in your bones and all.
Grade: A+
