Fantastic Fest 2022: Bones And All — An All-Consuming Road Film
A story of first love between Maren (Taylor Russell), a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee (Timothée Chalamet), an intense and disenfranchised drifter, as they meet and join together for a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and trap doors of Ronald Reagan's America. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
Bones And All masterfully mixes genres into an oddly affecting alchemy of coming-of-age, romance, body horror, and road movie. It’s hands down the most unique and exciting take on the cannibal genre since Julia Ducornau’s incredible debut, Raw, and we absolutely ate it up. Anchored by stellar performances, with a tender, poetic quality akin to Terrence Malick’s Badlands and a palpable Bonnie and Clyde vibe, this ravenous romance about two young flesheaters takes audiences on a beautifully bleak and totally unforgettable road trip across the American Midwest that’s streaked in bloodshed.
Bones And All is notable for being Guadagnino’s first film set in the U.S., and it occupies an interesting crossroads that connects Call Me By Your Name’s beautifully devastating romanticism with Suspiria’s gloriously deranged body horror. With an emphasis on the characters' internal conflicts and transformations, the film rolls the two main road film narratives into one, making it both a quest for identity and a tale of outlaws on the run. The themes are perfectly within Guadagnino’s wheelhouse, and it finds him continuing his exploration and celebration of who we are with a compassionate and naturalistic style and an unobtrusive lens. Even though the characters here have monstrous urges, he gives them a human touch and imbues them with compelling complexities, and he turns the whole grisly affair into a totally intoxicating and affecting effort.
Like Call Me By Your Name, Guadagnino firmly roots us into the perspective of one character. In this case it’s Taylor Russell’s Maren, and at first blush she appears to be just your average teenager, but we quickly learn she harbors a dark nature, which is difficult for her to suppress. With her mother no longer in the picture, her father (André Holland) tries his best to shield her — or perhaps others — from danger, but his efforts prove unsuccessful. Maren seems to always find a way to munch on flesh, whether it’s a babysitter’s face or a classmate’s finger at a sleepover, which sends the weary father and daughter on the road for yet another fresh start. On her 18th birthday, Maren wakes to find her father gone, only a tape recorder and some petty cash left in his stead. The recording kicks the plot into full swing, revealing that her mother is still alive somewhere and that her cannibalistic condition may have been inherited from her.
Thus begins her meandering roam of the haunted open America plains, full of ghost towns and bruised & bloodied skies. Along the way, she comes into contact with other “eaters.” The first of which is a decidedly creepy drifter named Sully (played with astounding depth by Mark Rylance). He claims to have smelled her from miles away, and oozes a loneliness that undulates between sympathetic and unsettling. He treats Maren to her first gruesome meal and shows off a disturbing keepsake that he makes from his victim’s hair. Sensing something’s off there, Maren heads out on her own again, where she quickly crosses paths with another drifter with dark desires. This time it’s the handsome and lanky Lee (played by Timothée Chalamet), another “eater” who’s more her age, and the two band together on the open road in search of Maren’s mother and the answers she might possess. Michael Stuhlbarg also pops up as a thoroughly unnerving “eater" (aptly paired with David Gordon Green), and he gives a monologue that solidifies what the title implies for the audience.
On the open road, love blossoms and wilts into tragedy for the star-crossed lovers, whose ending can be anything but happy. It’s a hard and lonely life out there for an “eater,” and the alternatives are as grim as their flesh-eating desires. Yet, for all Bones And All’s gruesome and bleak qualities, there’s an undeniable beauty and poetry to its evocative visuals and unfolding story, complete with fascinating twists and devastating developments.
The cinematography from Arseni Khachaturan is ominously gorgeous, and the melancholy-drenched score from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (along with some moody needle drops) make for pitch-perfect accompaniment that heighten the film’s already palpable atmosphere. The performances are flawless down the line. Russell and Chalamet shine incredibly bright at the film’s center, but as good as they are, they’re eclipsed by the phenomenal supporting performers whenever they appear (namely Rylance and Stuhlbarg).
In short, Bones And All is an absolute finger-licking treat that tears right to the bone and takes audiences for an all-consuming ride that lingers well beyond the credits. It will make you swoon, it will chill your bones, and it may just devour your soul. If the heart wants what the heart wants, well, we’d like to have some more of this, please. We think it’s the total package, and we cannot wait to indulge in its strange and brutal pleasures again.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for an expertly crafted piece of genre fusion, look no further than Bones And All. The film is an exciting cinematic experience in every single way, and it’s without a doubt one of the finest films you’ll find this year. Absolutely seek this one out when it hits theaters on 11/18.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds! Quell your hunger with the links below:
Call Me By Your Name review
"The Four Seasons Of Film" - Summer: Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name
Suspiria (2018) review
Fantastic Fest 2022 articles
Fantastic Fest 2022 reviews
Fantastic Fest 2022 podcasts
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!