CFNN Reporter Haven Lucas               

This past weekend I went to the Cameo downtown to watch the film Bones and All. After watching the trailer, I was expecting to see a nasty thriller about humans eating other humans, their bones and all. Instead it transcended into a beautiful piece of genre-defying cinema that I never could have anticipated. 

Ironically the cannibalistic film was released into theaters on Thanksgiving, the day where families all across America were sitting down to feast. When I sat down to feast my eyes upon the silver screen, I was scarily surprised by the opening scene where the main character Maren is revealed to be a cannibal when she loses control at a sleepover and attempts to bite off the finger of her close friend. We learn from this scene that Maren’s condition is uncontrollable and has caused a rift in her relationship with her father. This causes them to constantly be on the move. 

The rest of the film follows 18 year-old Maren on her own, traveling all over the midwest trying to find her dead-beat mother, and finding some strange characters along the way. She finds a demented mentor of sorts, a lover, and many other “eaters” who share her same tendencies.

The movie itself was just simply beautiful to watch. It strayed away from the status quo and instead exhibited elements of horror, romance, coming-of-age, road trip, psychological thriller, and a period piece all in one. For this, we have the director Luca Guadagino and his incandescence to thank. 

He’s most known for his work on “Call Me By Your Name” and “Suspiria”. He is able to bring stories to life with scenic cinematography, respect to the time period, and well-crafted, elaborate characters. I fell in love with the characters Luca brought to life, even though they were cannibals and murderers, because he has a way of making the viewer understand and relate with the characters. The two main characters, Maren and Lee, were outsiders and in love, and they never lost my attention.

This film was oddly beautiful, emotional, disgustingly gory, and surprisingly moving in many ways. As a frequent movie-goer and a big appreciator of the art of filmmaking, I would recommend this film. It was bloody and uncomfortable, but also challenged me to empathize with it. It had amazing acting performances from Taylor Russel, Oscar-nominated Timothee Chalamet, and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance. It had an incredible score and my favorite aspect of the film was its pleasing cinematography. I can’t wait to watch it a second time.