Bones and All (2022)

A bit similar to his acclaimed 2017 film, Call Me by Your Name, with his latest film, Bones and All, director Luca Guadagnino tackles another forbidden love story. But this one requires, let’s just say…more of an acquired taste. Much like its French cousin, Raw, directed by Julia Ducournau, Bones and All aims to subvert the cannibal stereotype by sympathizing with and humanizing its flesh-eating lead characters. Starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet, Guadagnino combines elements of a coming-of-age story, a road movie, and a romantic drama to stitch together a tough, touching, and heartbreaking cannibal tragedy that will leave you a bit speechless by the end of it.

"requires, let’s just say…more of an acquired taste"


Set in the 80s, high school senior, Meran (Russell) and her father (André Holland) have a history of ditching town in a hurry. It’s not that they want to. It’s that they have to. For reasons unknown to Meran, she has an uncontrollable craving for human flesh. And after her last cannibal indulgence at a sleepover where she bites off one of her friend’s fingers, her father can no longer handle their volatile situation anymore. He leaves his 18-year-old daughter some money, her birth certificate, and a tape explaining some of the family’s past, including hints of her mother’s past cannibalistic nature. From there, she decides to travel across states to find her mother and hopefully get answers. And along the way, she somehow finds more people like her…or rather, they find her. Among other eccentric characters, she meets an intense and hardened Lee (Chalamet). And between them grows a fondness as he offers to accompany her to find her mother. With him, Meran learns how to survive and potentially embrace this unfamiliar way of life, but nothing about the murderous ways this life demands sits right with her.Bones and All (2022)

For the most part, Guadagnino lets the audience imagine the grossness and violence of the feedings. The sounds of flesh being torn off and chewed up makes the audience skin turn and face squeeze with disgust. And the short sequences that we do see the feedings are starkly raw and grody. But what is great about the director’s decisions about when and where to show the gore is that it never feels over-the-top or unnecessary. Every time he shows the act, it has a distinct and meaningful purpose for Meran and for the audience as well.

And speaking of Meran, the young Taylor Russell handles the delicateness and unsureness of her character beautifully. Meran does not fit into this life, and you can feel through Russell’s performance full of hesitations and reluctance. Both her and her partner, the already seasoned young actor, Chalamet, give performances that are brilliantly subtle and underplayed.

Everything about Bones and All screams a beautiful, poetic, and tragic romance. At many times it is hard to watch, but it is also a gorgeous film to looks at, capturing the sunset-filled skies of East Coast, South, and Midwest regions of America. It is also worth noting that the stunning portraits of the characters and the country are all backed by a haunting, bluesy, western-y score from the legendary duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that is just a perfect vibe for the road movie element of this film.

I feel like this is a film that could have easily been made over-dramatic – and perhaps there are a few sequences that do leak into the classification - but with Guadagnino’s delicate hand, it doesn’t, and it is rather something that deeply affective and touching.

Bones and All is now playing in blu-ray and Video on Demand.

4/5 stars

 

Bones and All (2022)

Blu-ray Details

Blu-ray + Digital HD

Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray
- January 31, 2023
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Region-free playback

Bones and All is a story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter. It’s a liberating road odyssey of two young people coming in to their own, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are.

Video

From the 35 mm print to the disc, the 1080p transfer absolutely keeps the integrity of the warm tones and neutral palate of the film that shows off the gorgeous sunsets of the Midwest landscape. With just a touch of film grain to be seen, there is a nice natural look to the film. No problems with this transfer.

Audio

It’s not a film that necessarily shows of the extreme highs and lows of audio channels, but nonetheless, the Dolby Atmos True HD track brings the theatrical mix home wonderfully. Dialogue is clear and mixed accordingly to location and the character’s position to the camera. Reznor and Ross’s twangy/bluesy road music score is as equally as effective on this release as it was in theaters. Overall, a surprisingly immersive sound at home that is very pleasing.

Supplements:

With no commentary and only a handful of short featurettes, the supplements are quite unimpressive and a bit disappointment considering all of the content seems to be promotional videos that were released prior to the film’s release. Though I guess it’s better than nothing.

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

  • A Look Inside
  • Luca Guadagnino: The Vision of Bones and All
  • Meet Lee
  • Meet Maren
  • Outsiders in Love

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 5/5 stars
  Video  5/5 stars
  Audio 5/5 stars
  Extras 1/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

4/5 stars

Film Details

Bones and All (2022)

MPAA Rating: R for strong, bloody and disturbing violent content, language throughout, some sexual content and brief graphic nudity.
Runtime:
131 mins
Director
: Luca Guadagnino
Writer:
David Kajganich
Cast:
Timothée Chalamet; Taylor Russell; Mark Rylance
Genre
: Horror | Romance
Tagline:

Memorable Movie Quote: "When you eat the whole thing, bones and all. You ain't done that yet?"
Theatrical Distributor:
United Artists Releasing
Official Site: https://www.unitedartistsreleasing.com/bones-and-all/
Release Date:
November 23, 2023
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
January 31, 2023
Synopsis: Maren, a young woman, learns how to survive on the margins of society.

Art

Bones and All (2022)