Bones and All – A Hollow Coming-Of-Age Romance

Cannibal love stories don’t come along very often but suffice it to say that the premise of Bones and All has taken some audiences aback. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the film, based on the book of the same name by Camille DeAngelis, won’t be for everyone. That being said, those who aren’t particularly squeamish will be treated to a beautiful coming-of-age romance that admittedly works better as the former than the latter. Nevertheless, Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet are undeniably stars and their star power ultimately led the way even though their pairing did feel hollow. Whether or not audiences buy into that pairing will likely be the deciding factor in the film’s success. While they each deliver powerful performances in their own right and were compelling to watch together, the whole felt lacking. Focusing on their pairing which isn’t necessarily a bad idea on paper, each were thin thus bleeding into (no pun intended) the romance angle though the chemistry of Russell and Chalamet keep it afloat. However, that star power is so strong that a large portion of audiences will easily look past this.

Bones and All follows a sheltered young woman named Maren (Russell) who was forced to fend for herself and learn to survive in the open world for the first time as a cannibal. Alone and looking for answers and/or help, the answer seemed to be her mother who abandoned her and her father (André Holland) at a young age. Making her way across the 1980s American Midwest, Maren finally learned what life was really like as she had to dig deep and decide who she truly wanted to be. Encountering multiple viewpoints along the way, things appeared to change for her upon meeting a transient young man named Lee (Chalamet) who was also a cannibal and a more experienced one at that. Perhaps their troubled pasts drew the broken people together. They made by but that being said, they still had a lot to learn. From there, the two banded together as the film essentially became a double-edged coming-of-age story. Watching two similar young people trying to make sense of the world and themselves together was compelling until their relationship became something more.

As Maren and Lee became something more, that relationship was contrasted with the harsh reality of their circumstances. Bones and All seemed more interested in forcing the romantic angle than developing each character as the pacing was all over the place. In the end, the characters just could’ve been better utilized in order to make their arcs that much more compelling. At the same time, there was still plenty of drama to be had as Maren and Lee’s relationship was tested. Two young people living in the moment was one thing but having to come back to earth and face reality was another as what they were added another complicated layer to their issues. Meanwhile, hovering over them was another cannibal named Sully (Rylance) who had a habit of showing up at inopportune times. There was something about Maren that drew him to her. Starting off as a mentor figure, his infatuation became an obsession. A source of tension for tension’s sake, the character was far too over-the-top and camp to take seriously or feel threatened by. A tale full of brutality and tragedy, the only question was if Maren and Lee were meant to be together and would they survive in the real world?

In spite of the subject matter, Bones and All is a beautiful film, featuring some great cinematography showcasing the 1980s American Midwest and a fantastic score that does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of setting the mood and providing emotion. Highlighting the beauty of the story, it also highlighted the brutality and does not shy away from what the characters were for the most part. Arguably not as brutal as it was made out to be, it is still a brutal watch that will again not be for the squeamish. However, the best part of the film was the aforementioned performances from Russell and Chalamet as Maren and Lee. While the writing may be lacking, their collective star power helps bridge that gap though they can only do so much. The chemistry was there and definitely a bright spot in a film that could have been so much more. When it comes to Rylance in a limited role as Sully, whatever he was doing was baffling to say the least like he was in a completely different film.

At the end of the day, Bones and All is a film that will mean different things to different audiences assuming they can get through it. Its stars will get them through the door but it fails to do enough to make it memorable long after the credits roll.

still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.