Bones & All Movie Review

One of the best romance films in recent years was ‘Call Me By Your Name’. Armie Hammer controversy aside, the film perfectly captures innocence and the concept of first love. Director Luca Guadagino re-teams with Timothèe Chalmat to make a few adjustments to the romance genre formula, by blending it with horror… yes horror… His latest film Bones and All turns the romance genre on its head, by throwing in a cannibal element. The film follows two lovers Lee (played by Chalamat) and Maren (played by Taylor Russell) as they traverse the outer reaches of society, whilst also trying to combat their terrifying and horrific pasts. This film was not at all what I was expecting and in the best way possible. It’s clever, whilst still being quite violent and gross at times. 

Bones and All was a dark and twisted film, but in the best way possible. The film is elevated by expert craftsmanship from director Luca Guadagino. Each shot looks and feels like an art piece. A painting that could easily be hung on any wall in your house and mistaken for an award-winning painting or photograph. The set design is masterful, the cinematography from director of photography Arseni Khachaturan is gorgeous and the score by David Fincher’s preferred composers, who have scored The Social Network, Gone Girl, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Mank among others, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, is memorable, emotional and haunting. These elements all combine to make Bones and All a memorable and deeply emotional film.

The real standouts here are the terrific performances from the film's leads, Timothèe Chalmat and Taylor Russell are fantastic. If the competition wasn’t already so competitive at the 2023 Academy Awards, I would say both of these performances would be shoe-ins for nominations, however, unfortunately, both have not been receiving the award recognition they both should be, which is a real shame. They have great chemistry, but also convey the broken nature of their relationship with such poise. It’s a testament to their talent and I can’t wait to see them both tackle more of these types of smaller, more intimate, character pieces. Mark Rylance also shows up in a supporting role, adding yet another great performance to his already impressive resume. The film is worth checking out, just for these epic performances.

Bones and All isn’t for the faint hearted. It gets quite grotesque with the use of some gore effects during the film and the story itself is emotionally draining, however for genre fans such as myself, it’s the perfect film. The performances are terrific, with a standout supporting performance from Academy Award winner Mark Rylance. So, if you’re curious it’s definitely worth checking out, and if you are after something different, then give it a go, but be warned… Bones and All can be picked-up from Sanity’s online store on Blu-Ray and DVD. You can browse Sanity’s amazing range today, with over 15, 000 titles in-stock online.

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here