There are two types of Awards bait movies: ones that have all of the aesthetics of a prestige film (slow storytelling, long drawn out shots of absolutely nothing, big names attached) but are really lame to watch, and those that are legitimately good. Bones and All (I really want to put Bones n' All) is the latter. This is a legitimately good, if not flawed movie.
The Good:
1. Taylor Russell, lil Timmy, and Rylance. This is a film with a surprisingly small cast for a road trip movie, but man, I loved ever performance here. Mark Rylance absolutely killed it as Sully, in a performance I consider equally hammy and super effective for what he was going for. By the end, he is absolutely terrifying and I loved it. Timothee Chalamet is great, he always is. He and Russell had electric chemistry and I really felt he was his character; I really didn't see him as Timothee Chalamet, but as Leon.
But as you've probably heard, Taylor Russell is amazing in this movie. She is absolutely perfect, she melts into her character (Maren), and there's a vulnerability and tenderness to her that makes it impossible not to root for her. Which is surprising considering...
2. The subject matter. The opening sequence of this film is truly incredible, brutal, messed up, and jarring. And I loved it. I get quite squeamish about cannibalism (as i hope most sane people do), but the way it's handled here (with a vague supernatural element, and more zombie like - you'll get what I mean), is surprisingly tasteful. Don't get me wrong, it's a disgusting and hard-to-watch movie. But it's handled better than I'd hoped. As with..
3. The tone. This movie went a faster clip and was more "conventional" than I was expected; and look, I love when films take risks and are creative, but given what the movie's about, I think it was a good idea to follow a more traditional structure. This is an old fashioned road trip and romance movie, and it does both pretty well. There are some ethereal, odd moments, but they're appropriately for what is a fundamentally odd movie. This film never felt pretentious to me, which is a good thing.
4. The romance and the ending. I really bought Maren and Leon's relationship to such an extent that I honestly forgot about how fundamentally evil they are. It's a real feat when a film can do that, honestly. The ending too was...devastating, so well done, and absolutely brutal. I loved it.
The Bad:
1. Pacing. I think the film drags a bit in the middle and spins its wheels a little too much; there is a plot element that arises with Michael Stuhlbarg, a fellow cannibal who tracks Maren and Leon down in Kentucky, that doesn't really go anywhere and I felt that was a shame. I get the film was more about their romance than anything else, and it's not like this film needed to be longer, but it did seem like a plot dead end.
Bones and All isn't just weird for the sake of it. It's a wonderful, twisted horror romance that I'd watch again in a heartbeat. It deserves the hype.
The Good:
1. Taylor Russell, lil Timmy, and Rylance. This is a film with a surprisingly small cast for a road trip movie, but man, I loved ever performance here. Mark Rylance absolutely killed it as Sully, in a performance I consider equally hammy and super effective for what he was going for. By the end, he is absolutely terrifying and I loved it. Timothee Chalamet is great, he always is. He and Russell had electric chemistry and I really felt he was his character; I really didn't see him as Timothee Chalamet, but as Leon.
But as you've probably heard, Taylor Russell is amazing in this movie. She is absolutely perfect, she melts into her character (Maren), and there's a vulnerability and tenderness to her that makes it impossible not to root for her. Which is surprising considering...
2. The subject matter. The opening sequence of this film is truly incredible, brutal, messed up, and jarring. And I loved it. I get quite squeamish about cannibalism (as i hope most sane people do), but the way it's handled here (with a vague supernatural element, and more zombie like - you'll get what I mean), is surprisingly tasteful. Don't get me wrong, it's a disgusting and hard-to-watch movie. But it's handled better than I'd hoped. As with..
3. The tone. This movie went a faster clip and was more "conventional" than I was expected; and look, I love when films take risks and are creative, but given what the movie's about, I think it was a good idea to follow a more traditional structure. This is an old fashioned road trip and romance movie, and it does both pretty well. There are some ethereal, odd moments, but they're appropriately for what is a fundamentally odd movie. This film never felt pretentious to me, which is a good thing.
4. The romance and the ending. I really bought Maren and Leon's relationship to such an extent that I honestly forgot about how fundamentally evil they are. It's a real feat when a film can do that, honestly. The ending too was...devastating, so well done, and absolutely brutal. I loved it.
The Bad:
1. Pacing. I think the film drags a bit in the middle and spins its wheels a little too much; there is a plot element that arises with Michael Stuhlbarg, a fellow cannibal who tracks Maren and Leon down in Kentucky, that doesn't really go anywhere and I felt that was a shame. I get the film was more about their romance than anything else, and it's not like this film needed to be longer, but it did seem like a plot dead end.
Bones and All isn't just weird for the sake of it. It's a wonderful, twisted horror romance that I'd watch again in a heartbeat. It deserves the hype.