Rent Bones and All (2022)

Bones and All review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Merely looking at the premise, Bones and All sounds like either an absurd genre mixture or a concoction that shouldn’t work. And yet it does. In a lesser film, the romance might’ve been more tenderized and the violence softened. Director Luca Guadagnino is able to weave both so well, given his penchant for tragic romance in Call Me By Your Name and savage horror in Suspiria. He makes these elements work so well together.

The story centers around the teenage cannibal Maren (Taylor Russell). She’s had a taste for flesh since childhood, having her past shielded by her concerned father. All it takes is one mishap, one bite of flesh to find Maren and her dad fleeing to another location. When Maren reaches the age of 18, her father abandons her but gives her clues about the past. He directs her toward Minnesota to finally learn the truth about her mother that left her long ago. Thus begins a somber road trip.

The trip itself turns out to be a revelation. To Maren’s shock, she discovers she’s not the only one with this problem where she dines on the human body. Mark Rylance plays Sully, an elder cannibal who has been around long enough to know everything there is about the life of a nomadic killer struggling to survive. He tempts her with the dark side of accepting herself and that some people just need to die if they want to live to see another day. He’s not exactly the most enticing person to have as a partner.

A better partner is found in the younger cannibal Lee (Timothée Chalamet). They connect amid the midwest and find a genuine connection. Quiet and thoughtful, their bond soon forms from a convenient partnership to a romantic relationship. Their romance is unique because it is based on finding comfort in themselves. They don’t have to put on masks when they’re around each other. They can speak openly about craving some flesh in between make-out sessions, where the phrase “I’m hungry” takes on a different meaning.

Morality and mortality become further on Maren’s mind the further she comes to unearthing the truth. Without spoiling her destination in Minnesota, there is no comfort present as she seeks closure. With no love waiting for her elsewhere, deeper thoughts come about, questioning how she will live with herself and Lee. Will they keep eating people as they dash across the country? There’s a greater contemplation on finding happiness amid satisfying cravings, however horrific they may be.

In case it needs to be said, as if Guadagnino’s previous films weren’t a warning, this is an incredibly gory film. Blood and guts spill forth, showing all the nasty details as Maren, Lee, and Sully sink their teeth into human flesh, pulling out the blood and guts in their teeth. It’s all treated with great horror, made brutally evident by Maren and Sully’s first meal which starts with an old lady on the floor and ends with a bloody mess and pesky flies buzzing about.

At the same time, the passion feels real and heartfelt. It’s never treated as an absurdity and even centers around the tricky mindful field of placing trust in strangers. That trust slowly builds but still has its hills and valleys. They set rules for who they target but rules can become lost when murder is on the table. It makes for a compelling drama of young people struggling to find themselves while also trying to survive in a world they don’t feel they belong.

Bones and All doesn’t hold anything back in its merge of love, drama, horror, and adventure. All of it blends beautifully into a film that may make you turn your head when guts are torn out but still sheds some tears for the human connection between human consumption. What a fascinating film from such a multifaceted director.