‘Bones and All’ Review: The Taste of Young Love

Horror and romance come together in a gruesome but tender girl-eats-boy type of way of two lovers on the run. Young love is at the heart of the film but skip the popcorn and milk duds for this one.

Most people on road trips make pit stops at gas stations, convenience stores, maybe an old diner, or a fast food chain. This is also true for Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothee Chalamet), but they have some additional stops that involve something more their taste, human flesh. “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino takes you on a coming-of-age journey set in the midwest during the 80s following these two young lovers who face obstacles when it comes to living life as a cannibal or what they like to call it, “an eater.” They are part of a subculture that feeds on humans not by choice but by compulsion. They’ll enjoy food such as pancakes and bacon here and there, but their main desire is something a bit more spine-chilling to viewers. Based on Camille DeAngelis’ novel, the film is about trauma, acceptance, and the wanting to belong and be loved. One of the first pivotal scenes takes place at a sleepover. It’s what you would expect at first, girls talking together, listening to music, and painting each other’s nails. But it quickly takes a shocking turn when Maren tries to bite off one of the girl’s fingers. This scene sets up the mood for the rest of the movie and gives you a taste of what is about to come. Shortly after this incident, Maren’s father leaves her to fend for herself at 18 only, leaving behind some cash, her birth certificate, and a cassette tape. This cassette tape has recordings of her father, which helps the audience learn more about Maren and the events that have led her to where she is now.

Maren ventures out determined to find her mother, who she finds out is also an eater. At the beginning of her trip, she stumbles across a fellow eater named Sully (Mark Rylance). He’s a creepy lonesome older man who invites her into his home. After a night feeling on edge and scared for her life, she gets out of there as fast as possible and soon meets Lee at a convenience store. It’s a romantic moment of the two seeing each other for the first time, recognizing each other’s smell as both eaters and their initial attraction towards one another.

Middle America summer becomes a character in itself. Bones and All paints the Midwest during the 80s in a beautiful way that doesn’t have to include neon signs and arcades to understand the era. Growing up in the Midwest was not something many people or I romanticized, but I found myself tearing up at certain shots. Carnivals, diners, cornfields, gas stations, and empty roads all become characters alongside Maren and Lee. This film truly captured the essence of a true midwest summer. The contrast in the cinematography of this film is hauntingly beautiful. They ranged from dusty roads and blue skies to blood-soaked humans at night deep in the cornfields. There’s a perfect balance of horror and romance, which makes even the most disturbing scenes impossible to look away from because there is passion in every scene and everything these two characters do.

Being an eater is something that Maren and Lee have in common, but they all live with it in different ways. Maren is someone who is curious and practical and is determined to find an ethical approach to cannibalism. She tends to feel guilt more than Lee. Lee comes across as very confident and knowledgeable. He embraces being an eater. In comparison, Maren is always quick to wash off her blood from a meal. You see Lee with blood dripping from his mouth to his chest like a proud man. His belief is that everyone he eats has it coming for them. Although Maren and Lee are bound to each other by love and similarities, they have their differences. Lee, having met Maren, now makes him look at himself in the mirror a bit closer, which he is not used to.

If you look closer beyond the blood, guts, and gore, it seems like Luca Guadagnino uses something so grotesque as a metaphor for something a bit deeper such as those learning to accept their sexuality or fight addiction. Just like Maren and Lee are on a journey, so are queer people and addicts. Maren was abandoned by her father and never met her mother until later in the film. There are a lot of queer individuals who have had similar experiences, being abandoned by family members or not accepted by the ones who are supposed to love them. Maren and Lee turn to each other and meet other eaters on their journey. Maren and Lee have never experienced love and support from anyone before meeting each other. They both struggle with their identity in different ways.

Bones and All is horrifying and erotic but remains delicate and romantically tragic as it tells us a Bonnie and Clyde or Badlands-type story leaving us feeling a pit in our stomachs and a dagger in our hearts.