Luca Guadagnino‘s (Suspiria, Call Me by Your Name) latest movie, Bones and All, is almost impossible to classify into a single genre. The story of two young lovers, played by Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, struggling to survive in the margins of Reagan-era America is, all at once, a dark fable, a road-trip movie, a survival drama, an a coming-of-age cannibal romance.
It isn’t often that a movie appeals to such a diverse range of interests, but Luca Guadagnino is a thoughtful filmmaker who pulls from a variety of reference points and inspirations, allowing Bones and All to transcend any one label. Bones and All is a lot of things, which is why we thought the best way to convince you to watch this movie isn’t by giving you a brief synopsis and telling you what it’s about, or revealing its Rotten Tomatoes score (which currently sits at an incredibly “Fresh” 88%, in case you were wondering), but by connecting it to things that you may already love.
So in true algorithmic fashion, here now is a list of reasons you should watch Bones and All especially if you like…
If You Like… Dark Fables
In an interview with The A.V. Club, Luca Guadagnino described Bones and All as a “dark fable.” He says: I think it’s a romantic film – it’s a romance. It’s a dark fable – it’s a fable about overcoming your limits and your nature, and finding love.” This got us thinking about how some of the best horrors and thrillers – from Suspiria (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), to The Red Shoes (Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes), to Big Bad Wolves (Little Red Riding Hood) – have been based on fairy tales with dark and twisted endings. Here, Luca Guadagnino uses the tropes of the genre to give Bones and All a dreamlike quality. And just like in so many fables, this too is the story of two broken outsiders who eventually find completion in one another.
If You Like… Gothic Romances
Bones and All is more than just a cannibal love story. It is, at its core, a deeply visceral take on love, loneliness, and our need for human connection. This movie may not have all the obvious hallmarks of a gothic film (there’s no big ornate house or actual ghosts), but the themes of repression, attraction to the unknown, the all consuming nature of young love, and having to grapple with the darkest sides of who you are make this as compulsively enjoyable as the best of those romances. Bones and All is a movie that trips along that fine line between life and death, love and loss, salvation and damnation.
If You Like… A-List Actors Getting Weird
The cast in Bones and All is absolutely stacked. Besides the swoonworthy Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, both of whom give career defining performances, the movie also feature a lineup of stellar Hollywood talent – including Mark Rylance, Chloe Sevigny, and Michael Stuhlbarg – who aren’t afraid to push the envelope and get totally strange.
If You Like… Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been responsible for some of the greatest soundtracks of this generation. Their catalog, which ranges from dour and depressing to grand and awe-inspiring, stands shoulder to shoulder with the greatest of Hollywood composers. See: Mank, Watchmen, The Social Network, Soul, Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. In Bones and All, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ melancholic guitar score is all consuming, providing the perfect backdrop for Maren and Lee’s journey across the dusty American Midwest.
Which brings us to…
If You Like… Americana
Luca Guadagnino sets his movie in the 1980s and across the landscape of the American Midwest. So if you enjoy roadtripping like Bonnie and Clyde did through the Badlands, or wandering through America’s grim expanse of checkered diners and boarded-up shanties, before escaping into freedom of rolling hills and rippling lakes, then you are going to love the look and feel of Bones and All. (P.S. Cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan is a bona fide genius!)
Bonus! If You Like… Watching These Kinds of Movies on the Big Screen
The fact that we’re actually getting to watch Bones and All on the big screen… here… in Malaysia… is in itself reason enough to go out and watch it. It’s a rare occurrence that should be both celebrated and encouraged. Because only then will they keep bringing these sorts of indie, talky, non-superhero, non-horror movies to our shores.
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