Have You Met The Eaters? Review Of Bones And All (2023)

In another scene, Maren is eighteen and wakes up to find her father gone. He leaves her some money, her birth certificate and a cassette player detailing her circumstances. Maren sets out to find her mother while listening to the tape on the way. She meets an old man, Sully, who reveals that he smelled her from a distance and later teaches her how to "feed". By morning, while Sully is asleep, Maren takes her bag and runs.

While at a supermarket, Maren picks up the scent of another eater, Lee (played by Timothée Chalamet). They become friends, share a body and continue to travel by road to find Maren's mother. Will Maren be satisfied with her history? Is she ready to accept her nature and future?

Review

The plot is brilliant and riveting. Two youngsters in love accept who they are and fight whoever dares to come between them. It's a lonely road yet they travel it, facing their fears and challenges together. I'll say this is a film worth watching.

The storytelling and character development is great. While the story plays out, there are bits of the past pieced into the movie without disrupting the flow. This film touches on themes of love and uniqueness—the unconventional becoming acceptable—and cannibalism. Director Luca Guadagnino portrays his characters in a manner that they recognise who they are and know they are different from what society expects, yet they fight to accept themselves and survive.

I appreciate that the main characters exhibit humane feelings when they feed off corpses and dying people. They recognize that these bodies were once connected to families, and later, they experience regret for the individual whose familial ties they were not initially aware of.

The gore/cannibalism scenes are few but necessary which is okay, especially for viewers who may be disturbed by the images. I mean how can the filmmakers talk about cannibalism and not display it, even if it's in one or two scenes? Thankfully, I had not eaten for some hours when I watched and must admit the scenes were horrifying and almost nauseating. So if you're easily triggered or sensitive to gore, then I recommend you don't watch this film or fast-forward when you get to the bloody scenes.

The cast's performance is outstanding. Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell are great together, their chemistry is realistic and charming. Mark Rylance who plays the supporting role of Sully, a crazy and irritating character who speaks about himself in the third person, is amusing. His acting is believable and if I were Maren meeting Sully for the first time, I would run as fast as my legs can carry me.

The editing and cinematography are excellent as well. The depictions of road travel present captivating visuals and scenic landscapes such that viewers would want to embark on a road trip with the main characters.

Overall, Bones And All is a fascinating film that I'll recommend to all fantasy/horror lovers. The story is well told and there are no graphic scenes except for the gore which are just a few. I'll give it 3.8 stars out of 5.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{Other images are screenshots from the movie}