A One Mann’s Movies review of “Bones and All” (2022).
From the pre-release vibe on this one, I expected Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All” to be one of my movie highlights of the year. But in the end, I was mightily disappointed.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Maren (Taylor Russell) has grown up with a terrible secret. She is an “eater”, with a voracious (and growing) appetite for human flesh. Moved around the country by her father (André Holland) to escape the law, she assumes she is a one-off freak. But after running into fellow eater Sully (Mark Rylance), she discovers she is far from alone and can even learn to ‘sniff out’ others.
Certification:
UK: 18; US: R. (From the BBFC: “strong violence, gore”).
Talent:
Starring: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalomet, Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg.
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino.
Written by: David Kajganich. Based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis.
Twitter Handle: #BonesAndAllFilm.
“Bones And All” Review:
Positives:
- Even though I thought “Escape Room” and its sequel “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” were pretty poor movies, I WAS very impressed with Taylor Russell. And she is equally impressive in this, with a teriffic screen presence. A young lady with a bright future.
- Both Mark Rylance and (especially) Michael Stuhlbarg give superbly creepy performances. Rylance sniffing the breeze is a sight to behold.
Negatives
- As a road movie (we cross through multiple different US states during the film) the exposition was, for me, jerky and unengaging. At times I was plain bored. Events on the journey just seemed like disconnected episodes. As an example, the meeting with Jake (Stuhlbarg) and Brad (David Gordon Green), which raised some tension, just ended with them driving off! What was the point? What did the scene contribute to the arc of the story?
- In general, the scenes of tension were poorly handled. An element of Sully’s “collection” in the finale, which should have been a key reveal, is brushed into the film’s canvas with barely a brush-stroke showing.
- Taylor Russell is a good actress and Timothée Chalomet can be: I don’t think he was at his best in this, possibly hampered by the most ridiculous jeans in movie history! But I really didn’t feel great chemistry between the pair. The script is clearly aiming for a Twilight-style Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson style of teen-weirdo romance, but I didn’t think it came off here.
Summary Thoughts on “Bones And All”
A disappointment. I saw this as the second in a double bill with “Glass Onion“, so perhaps my adrenaline from that film influenced my enjoyment of this one. Or maybe its just that Luca Guadagnino and I just don’t get on? Everyone raved about “Call Me By Your Name“, but for me it was a 3* “meh”.
By the way, I’d heard that this was a gore-fest, with audience members at the Venice Film Festival becoming very distressed at the scenes. So I went it bracing myself. But I’ve honestly seen a lot worse. There is a bit of a yucky scene in the finale, but less blood and gore overall than I’ve seen in some ’15’ certificate films.
Trailer for “Bones And All”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjMt1MIk2EA.
