Luca Guadagnino (Call me By Your Name, Suspiria) is known for his beautiful and full aspect landscapes of Europe are beautiful and kind of a trademark of his. Even when documenting the more war-torn parts of Europe in Suspiria there was still that same trademark beauty to them. In Bones and All the director steps outside of himself in a brave feat of reinvention to truly discover rural Americana. In the process, we as an audience rediscover the almost apocalyptic, barren, and dirty 1980’s countryside. This is home to Guadagnino’s new love story for monsters and it fits perfectly well.
Fine Young Cannibals in a Ravenous and Savage Love Story
Bones and All follows Maren (Taylor Russell) as she navigates a world alone due to her insatiable cannibalistic craving. The ravenous condition has caused her father to leave her, sending her on a road trip to find her mother and answers. Along the way, she meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet) who joins Maren on her trip. While traveling together the two fine young cannibals discover that they don’t have to live a life alone and find a feverish romance with one another. All that while continuing their need to feed on human flesh.
Chalamet and Russell are breathtaking and impossible to look away from. The duo is incredible together with performances exuding charm levity and a careful vulnerability. Their chemistry makes the juxtaposition between cannibalistic brutality and a love story work and weaves magic. One scene, in particular, soars with blood-soaked charisma. It involves Lee listening to Kiss’s Lick It Up track and dancing in circles while singing all in one fantastic shot. Each moment the two are on screen they are making the audience fall in love with the film’s monsters. In a similar vein, Boris Karloff’s work in Frankenstein did the exact same thing. His performance alone forced audiences to sympathize and fall in love with the monster.
The film’s ensemble cast of backing players are a work of lightning in a bottle black magic all their own. These actors are incredible in their roles and are almost truly unrecognizable. Through strong performances and some truly creative but minimalistic makeup, these actors are chilling and unforgettable. Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Gordon Green, and Chloé Sevigny are all magnificent but difficult to recognize if not looking for them.
The landscape, the lovers, and the brilliant backing ensemble all set to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score is the final beautiful and subtle touch that turns the film to a masterpiece. Reznor and Ross find a way to audibly achieve notes that masterfully frame the cannibalistic and the unflinching love all in one voracious helping.
Bones and All is a beautiful, ravenous and heartbreaking story made for and about gorgeous monsters and marvelous outsiders. It is truly a story that outsiders can dwell in. It is as haunting as it is beautiful. It is as filled with as much gore and beauty as it is full of true love – it is easily the best film of the year and an unforgettable experience.
Bones and All is in theaters beginning November 23.
