If you're going to check out this film, I would strongly advise not buying concessions for this movie unless you got a strong stomach for it because this movie is a little too much for some people. Let me tell you this movie was damn freaking great.
Today in the blog, I want to talk to you guys about the brand new coming-of-age romantic cannibal road film that is called Bones and All. Bones and All is co-produced and directed by Luca Guadagnino, who has made terrific films in the past couple of years like 'Call Me by Your Name' and 2018's remake of Suspiria. The film stars Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, and Mark Rylance. The film follows cannibalistic lovers Marin and Lee as they embark on a road trip across America.
Going into this film, I had really high expectations for it as director Luca Guadagnino has been making terrific films in the past couple of years. I feel like he has a great sense of writing and developing characters and also has this really dark and creepy aspect about his movies. For a lot of people that are checking out his review and not sure if they want to see this movie, this movie isn't really about cannibalism. Well, like it is, but the main focus of this film is a love story between these two characters and how they're trying to accept each other and love one another in this lonely world.
The best aspect of this film has got to be the performance. Here, Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet are excellent. They have terrific chemistry with one another. I truly felt like they were like dating in real life because they were so good together. They have a tough challenge, especially with this cannibalistic type of story. However, they do such an amazing job with it. I really feel like they became these characters.
Mark Rylance is also great in this movie which I know sounds like it's a surprise because like he's great in every movie that I've pretty much seen him. However, in this type of movie, I wouldn't expect Mark Rylance to be in. He is really damn good Luca Guadagnino's direction is amazing. Here as all the shots are composed in this very beautiful cool and stylistic way that just feels so grounded and not in a movie-like sense. This movie just feels like a very small independent movie that just has a lot of raw and detailed passion that went into it. Most of the time watching the film I didn't feel like this was a Hollywood-made movie. Everything felt real whether they were on the road or they were at these different places it just felt like they shot on location. They probably did but this movie just felt, I don't know just very realistic and grounded.
The cinematography is excellent as this is one of the most beautiful films, I have seen this year with so many great colors that feel very purposeful. Especially, with a lot of gray colors because it's trying to you know tell us what these characters are feeling in the world that they're in.
Before I even dive into any other aspect of the movie, I have to talk about the amazing score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I think the score was really good. I think it played perfectly within the story and it didn't feel like it was inappropriately used. I also found the screenplay to be fantastic here. I really enjoy the characters and the depths that this movie goes to and there are a lot of twists and turns that felt like it was actually a part of the script and not just thrown in last minute. It seems like it is very accurate to the novel so if you have read the novel and you're a big fan, I think you're going to really enjoy this adaptation I also really enjoyed the fact that this movie is really grounded and it just feels like an independent romantic drama film through most of the movie. I really enjoyed that and it felt very innocent of Let the Right One In where the movie isn't just about vampires, if you haven't seen that film definitely go check it out. It's really great.
Unfortunately, this film does have a few negatives.
The first one has got to be the pacing. I did feel this movie is a little too long being over 2 hours and 10 minutes, especially in the middle of the film which seems like a problem. I have a lot of mainstream films maybe it's just me who knows. But I did feel that the pacing of this movie while it is pretty slow was very enjoyable. I enjoyed it throughout pretty much the whole film.
The last negative, I have with this film has gotta be with the third act. I really enjoy the events of the third act. It feels like that's what would have happened if this movie was like 20 minutes longer as this movie feels like it just jumps out of nowhere to this point of the movie that has a ton of action and it is a very monumental point of the film and for you watching it out of context it's a really great scene. It's very well done. There's tons of tension it's really well shot it's really bloody. It's everything that you expect from a third act but there is a point in the movie where something happens with these characters and they transition into this different part of their lies. I was really interested to see where this is going but it feels like something was cut out maybe by the studios or maybe this was part of the original direction of the film but it feels like we get this big moment we get a montage and then we just jump right into this moment and it just kind of feels out of nowhere. If you give it maybe an extra 15-20 minutes to really develop this and then get to that point, I think this movie would have been basically almost perfect.
Overall, Bones and All is a really great romantic horror film that really did everything that I want this movie to be. I wish more movies would take more chances like this and really focus on the characters in the story and the emotion of the film. I can't wait to re-watch this movie again it just feels very iconic and very memorable. I think you guys should go out and pay and watch this film it deserves it.
I'm giving bones and all an 8 out of 10.