Review: Bones And All

Image courtesy of United Artists.

Luca Guadagnino's "Bones and All" - based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis - is possibly the only cannibal romance I've ever seen and the director's second attempt at horror following his interesting, but divisive, "Suspiria" reimagining in 2018.

The picture is an odd blend of a road trip romance between two damaged drifters and an occasionally gory film about people whose appetites are satiated only by the taste of human flesh. Often dreamy with stunning vistas or music from the 1980s - during which time period the film is set - "Bones and All" often makes sharp turns into Grand Guignol territory when you're least expecting it.

As the film opens, teenager Maren (Taylor Russell) has just started to get situated in her latest high school - she and her father (Andre Holland) appear to flee from town to town and keep a low profile - when, after having been invited to a high school girl sleepover, she nearly bites off the finger of one of her new friends. She and her father prepare to flee again, but when she awakens the next day he is already gone, leaving only a tape-recorded message about how he can't continue to live like fugitives and protect her from her dangerous appetites.

No sooner than Maren has set off for herself than she runs into another drifter, a creepy guy named Sully (Mark Rylance) who often refers to himself in the third person, and he schools her on how to survive on the road while being a cannibal - yes, he's one too. He also teaches her how to sniff out other fellow cannibals, and claims to be able to smell death the moment it occurs. While awaiting an overnight bus, she - ahem - dines with him at the home of an elderly woman who has fallen and, eventually, dies.

But Maren is put off by Sully's demeanor - and when he makes a reappearance late in the film, it's obvious that her instincts were good - and sets off on her own again, this time meeting a young man named Lee (Timothee Chalamet) who also happens to be a cannibal. The two begin traveling together - and Maren is slightly disturbed by Lee's ability to kill without feeling much remorse - and eventually a romance blossoms.

The pair travel to seek out Maren's mother - Chloe Sevigny pops up in a disturbing cameo - but when that doesn't prove fruitful, they try to set up what could quality as a normal life in a small town. But, not surprisingly, some dangerous elements from their past catch up to them.

"Bones and All" could be considered a dreamy romance if it weren't also so unsettling in parts - the meeting with Maren's mother, any appearance of Sully, and a disturbing conversation with a traveling cannibal (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his cop buddy about a ritual that gives the film its title - and the film's cast all make a slightly implausible story feel believable.

Guadagnino, who made the gorgeous "Call Me By Your Name" and the stylish "I Am Love," knows how to create swoon-worthy romances out of ill-fated love affairs with scenic backdrops, appropriate needle drops, and lush photography. 

He has also dabbled in horror moviemaking. Whereas his "Suspiria" remake was all style and its mood felt all of a piece, "Bones and All" often bounces back and forth between its dramatic elements and its icky moments. At times, it's a little jarring - and while the picture certainly isn't on the level of the director's previous outing with Chalamet, it's still pretty compelling. Just don't plan on eating anything squishy for dinner for a few days afterwards.