Bones and All

Bones and All
File:Bones and All.jpg Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Luca Guadagnino
Produced by	Luca Guadagnino Theresa Park Marco Morabito David Kajganich Francesco Melzi d'Eril Lorenzo Mieli Gabriele Moratti Peter Spears Timothée Chalamet
Screenplay by	David Kajganich
Based on	Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis
Starring	Taylor Russell Timothée Chalamet Michael Stuhlbarg André Holland Chloë Sevigny David Gordon Green Jessica Harper Jake Horowitz Mark Rylance
Music by	Trent Reznor Atticus Ross
Cinematography	Arseni Khachaturan
Edited by	Marco Costa
Production company	Frenesy Film Company Per Capita Productions The Apartment Pictures Memo Films 3 Marys Entertainment Elafilm Tenderstories
Distributed by	Vision Distribution (through Prime Video and Sky Italia; Italy) United Artists Releasing (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures; United States)
Release dates	September 2, 2022 (2022-09-02) (Venice) November 18, 2022 (2022-11-18) (United States) November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23) (Italy)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	Italy United States
Language	English
Budget	$16–20 million
Box office	$14.5 million

Bones and All is a 2022 romantic horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by David Kajganich, based on the 2015 novel Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis. The film stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as a pair of young cannibals who flee together on a road trip across the country and develop feelings for each other. Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, David Gordon Green, Jessica Harper, Jake Horowitz, and Mark Rylance appear in supporting roles.

Bones and All had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2022, where it won the Silver Lion for best direction. The film was released theatrically in the United States on November 18, by United Artists Releasing, and elsewhere by Warner Bros. Pictures, with the exception of Italy, where it was distributed by Vision Distribution. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the lead performances, direction, cinematography, and fusion of genres. However, it underperformed at the box office, grossing $14.5 million against a $16–20 million budget.

Plot

In 1980s Virginia, teenager Maren Yearly bites through a girl's finger—partially severing it—at a sleepover. She and her single father, Frank, swiftly relocate to Maryland. Shortly after Maren's eighteenth birthday, Frank abandons her, leaving behind cash, her birth certificate, and a tape. On the tape, Frank recounts the story of Maren's first cannibalistic episode, when she killed her babysitter at three years old. Similar incidents continued to occur over the years and while Frank helped her evade consequence, he anguished over Maren's lack of remorse. He concludes with the hope that she will overcome her urges.

Maren heads to Minnesota, where her mother, Janelle, of whom she has no memories, was born. She takes a bus to Columbus, Ohio, where she encounters Sully, an eccentric man and fellow "eater" who found her by scent. She follows Sully to a house wherein an elderly woman is near death. Maren awakens in the morning to find Sully devouring the woman's corpse and joins him. Maren flees soon after.

While shoplifting supplies in Indiana, Maren meets Lee, a fellow eater, after he feeds on a man who harassed a customer inside the store. Stealing his victim's truck, Lee offers to bring Maren along. As they embark on a cross-country road trip, Maren and Lee fall in love. During a brief stay in Lee's hometown in Kentucky, Maren notices his unwillingness to discuss his father's absence and the reason why Lee avoids being spotted around town. His younger sister, Kayla, who is unaware of his true nature, chastises him for his constant departures.

Maren and Lee encounter what appears to be a pair of fellow eaters, Jake and Brad. Maren is revolted at the fact that Brad does not share their cravings, instead voluntarily choosing to engage in cannibalism. Jake also talks about the intensity of consuming a body "bones and all". Lee and Maren drive away when the men are asleep.

After Maren expresses hunger during a stop at a local carnival, Lee cruises a male booth worker and kills him. Once she and Lee have feasted on the body, Maren expresses guilt upon discovering that the man was married and had a family.

Using a phone book directory, Maren finds the home of her grandmother, Barbara, who had no prior knowledge of her existence. Barbara confesses that she and her husband adopted Janelle at birth and that Janelle has since voluntarily admitted herself into a psychiatric hospital in Fergus Falls.

Maren meets Janelle, who has self-cannibalized her own hands. Maren reads a letter that Janelle wrote to her, which concludes with Janelle's belief that Maren would be better off dead. Janelle attacks Maren, but is restrained by a nurse. Maren leaves while Lee is asleep and is eventually approached by Sully, who was stalking her. She rebukes him, causing him to angrily depart. Once Lee realizes Maren is gone, he decides to return home.

After some time, Maren returns to Kentucky. While there, she runs into Kayla who tells her that, on the night of her and Lee's alcoholic, abusive father's disappearance, he beat both of his children and vanished while Kayla ran to get the police. Initially considered the prime suspect, Lee was cleared of involvement when it was proven that the blood on him was his own. After Maren is reunited with Lee, they rekindle their relationship and travel westward. Lee reveals to Maren that his father was also an eater, biting his son during their scuffle, and that Lee ultimately fed on him. Maren declares her love for Lee, and the two decide to attempt a normal life together.

Months later, the couple lives happily in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Maren works at a university bookstore. She returns home one day to find Sully has broken into their apartment, and he taunts her with a knife. After Lee returns, the couple succeeds in killing Sully, but Lee is fatally wounded in the struggle. While searching Sully's satchel, Maren finds locks of Kayla's hair and realizes she fell victim to Sully. Lee expresses his wish for Maren to eat him as he dies, "bones and all", with which Maren eventually complies.

Cast

• Taylor Russell as Maren Yearly
• Timothée Chalamet as Lee
• Michael Stuhlbarg as Jake
• André Holland as Frank Yearly, Maren's father
• Chloë Sevigny as Janelle Kerns, Maren's mother
• David Gordon Green as Brad
• Jessica Harper as Barbara Kerns, Maren's grandmother
• Jake Horowitz as Lance, a carnival worker whom Lee picks up
• Mark Rylance as Sully
• Kendle Coffey as Sherry
• Anna Cobb as Kayla, Lee's sister

Production

On April 8, 2019, it was announced that David Kajganich would adapt Camille DeAngelis's 2015 novel Bones & All for the screen, and that the film would be directed by Antonio Campos. On January 28, 2021, it was announced that Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet would star in the film, now to be directed by Luca Guadagnino. Chalamet is also a producer on the film. Filming began in May, by which time Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Jessica Harper, Chloë Sevigny, Francesca Scorsese, and David Gordon Green had joined the cast. Shooting took place in Chillicothe, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio, which makes it Guadagnino's first film set and made in the United States. Production was affected by break-ins that occurred for some of the crew's cars, leading to a request being submitted to Cincinnati City Council in late June to provide $50,000 for increased security. While there was some criticism over the proposed use of taxpayer funds for a private enterprise, City Council ultimately passed a measure to grant the funds. Filming wrapped in July 2021.

Executive producers are Giovanni Corrado and Raffaella Viscardi. The film is fully financed by Italian companies: The Apartment (a Fremantle group society), 3 Marys, Memo, Tender Stories, Adler, Elafood, Elafilm, Manila, Serfis and Wise.

Guadagnino said that Bones and All is "a very romantic story, about the impossibility of love and yet, the need for it. Even in extreme circumstances." He also said that Chalamet and Russell have "a gleaming power" and are able to "portray universal feelings".

Marketing

The first teaser for Bones and All was released on August 10, 2022. American artist Elizabeth Peyton was commissioned by director Luca Guadagnino to create a painting based on the film. The resulting painting, which she titled "Kiss (Bones and All)", was turned into the film's first poster, which was on display during the Venice International Film Festival, hanging on the 13th-century palace Ca' da Mosto in Venice.

The official poster for the film was released on September 29, 2022, accompanied by its first trailer, which featured a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker". The song was chosen by lead actor Timothée Chalamet. Safeeyah Kazi of Collider called the trailer "chilling" and "intense". Toussaint Egan of Polygon noted similarities to 1994's crime thriller Natural Born Killers. Allegra Frank of The Daily Beast called it "gorgeously bloody", and praised it for not sharing too much information. Lauren Milici of Total Film described the trailer as Let The Right One In meets Bonnie and Clyde." An extended trailer was released on October 5, 2022.

Music

Main article: Bones and All (soundtrack)

The film's score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and was released on November 18, 2022, on Reznor's label The Null Corporation. In an interview with TheWrap, Reznor and Ross explained that they had extensive discussions with Guadagnino regarding the score, who stated that he wanted it to be "a melancholic elegy, an unending longing. It needs to be a character in the film, a part of the landscape" and requested the use of acoustic guitars to complement the Americana visuals. Reznor and Ross noted how the duo had to experiment with a lot of different sounds before figuring out how the score would sit in the film and explained the creation of the film's original song "(You Made It Feel) Like Home", which stemmed from their personal connections to Russell and Chalamet's characters.

Release

Bones and All had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2022, followed by screenings at the 60th New York Film Festival, 17th Fantastic Fest, 49th Telluride Film Festival, 2022 AFI Fest and 2022 BFI London Film Festival. It had a limited theatrical release beginning on November 18, 2022, before opening wide on November 23.

Theatrical

It is the first film to be acquired by United Artists Releasing and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures following its merger deal with Amazon on March 17, 2022. Vision Distribution released the film in Italy on November 23, 2022, in collaboration with Prime Video and Sky, while Warner Bros. Pictures handled all other international territories through MGM and UA Releasing under a new multi-year pact with the former beginning with this film.

Home media

The film was available on rental PVOD on December 13, 2022. It will be released on Blu-ray on January 31, 2023, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

As of December 20, 2022, Bones and All has grossed $7.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $6.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $14.1 million; it underperformed against a $16-20 million budget.

In its limited opening weekend, Bones and All grossed $120,000 from five theaters. The film expanded alongside Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Strange World, Devotion, and the wide expansion of The Fabelmans, and was projected to gross around $7–9 million from 2,727 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. It made $921,000 on its first day, including $345,000 from Tuesday night previews. It went on to debut to $2.7 million (including $3.5 million over the five days), finishing in eighth. In its third weekend of release, the film made $1.2 million. Its underperformance in the United States was attributed to the increasing decline of interest in prestige films by the general public in a moviegoing environment altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film debuted first at the Italian box office, grossing a total of €109.036 (USD$113,643).

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 268 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Although its subject matter may be hard to stomach, Bones and All proves a deeply romantic and thought-provoking treat." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 71%, including an average three out of five stars.

Reviewing the film following its premiere at Venice, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it an "extravagant and outrageous movie: scary, nasty and startling in its warped romantic idealism" and gave the film a perfect rating of 5 stars. Stephanie Zacharek, in her review for Time, wrote "Bones and All is fastidiously romantic. It's so carefully made, and so lovely to look at, even at its grisliest", praising the direction and cast performances, particularly Russell's. Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, and Mark Rylance have received acclaim for their performances with critics praising Russell and Chalamet's chemistry together. Bloody Disgusting called the duo "profound" and "touching and genuine". The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney also praised the duo, adding their performances are "unforced and underplayed to subtly stirring effect," while calling the film "strangely affecting, even poetic" and commending the direction and cinematography.

Leila Latif in her review for IndieWire wrote, "Bones & All is fundamentally a beautifully realized and devastating, tragic romance which at multiple moments would have Chekhov himself weeping as the trigger is pulled." Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called it an "alternately plodding and engrossing YA road movie" praising the cast performances, but ultimately found the film unsatisfactory, writing "Bones and All has its merits, but the film is only a decent side dish at the feast of Guadagnino." Writing for Sight & Sound, John Bleasdale described it as "wryly funny, gleefully entertaining and oddly touching" and praised the direction, cinematography, score, and cast performances. Comparing it to Call Me by Your Name, Selina Sondermann wrote "like two sides of the same coin – both cunningly display the love we find for ourselves when we are allowed to truly love another person, bones and all."

"There's real pleasure in Bones and All, an insistent sweetness that somehow both nourishes and cleanses away the horror" wrote Justin Chang in his review for the Los Angeles Times. Clint Worthington Flow of Consequence described the film as "an oddly sweet—presumably a little coppery, too, due to all the blood—alchemy of love and murder" and compared it to Badlands (1973) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967), with their tales of "lovers skirting human morality and forging their own sense of paradise with each other". In one unenthusiastic review, Slant's Keith Uhlich criticized the screenplay, direction, and cast performances, concluding: "Straining to be a YA spin on Trouble Every Day, Bones and All barely eclipses Twilight." Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, provided a firmly negative review, criticizing the use of gore by saying "the problem is [cannibalism] can’t stay a metaphor" and "Guadagnino has a choice, whether to be an artist or just the maker of artistically rendered, conscientiously realized garbage."

Accolades

Accolades for Bones and All

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Venice Film Festival	September 10, 2022	Golden Lion	Luca Guadagnino	Nominated
		Silver Lion for Best Director		Won
		Marcello Mastroianni Award	Taylor Russell	Won
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 16, 2022	Best Original Song in a Feature Film	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross ("(You Made it Feel Like) Home")	Nominated
Gotham Independent Film Awards	November 28, 2022	Outstanding Lead Performance	Taylor Russell	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Performance	Mark Rylance	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	December 14, 2022	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	David Kajganich	Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society	January 6, 2023	Best Supporting Actor	Mark Rylance	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	David Kajganich	Runner-up
		Best Breakthrough Artist	Taylor Russell	Runner-up
Austin Film Critics Association	January 10, 2023	Best Supporting Actor	Mark Rylance	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	David Kajganich	Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society	February 18, 2023	Best Supporting Actor	Mark Rylance	Pending
Hollywood Critics Association Awards	February 24, 2023	Best Horror Film	Bones and All	Pending
Independent Spirit Awards	March 4, 2023	Best Feature	Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears	Pending
		Best Lead Performance	Taylor Russell	Pending
		Best Supporting Performance	Mark Rylance	Pending

See also

• List of Italian films of 2022

External links

• Official website (Italy)
• Official website (US)
• Bones and All at MGM Studios
• Bones and All at IMDb
• Official screenplay