Bones and All

Venice Film Festival #8 – PalaBiennale

Bones and All takes it wildly dark and haunting story and opts to tell one of love and security that is a sharp contradiction to the violent and gory scenes on display. It’s in this dichotomy that Bones and All finds its beauty, despite the tragedy that’s thrust upon our protagonists there is a hope that permeates their decisions. In this world Guadagnino is getting you to sympathise with cannibals but framing them as being others marginalised from society and displaced from being able to have a normal life, this not only works, but also could be taken as an allegory for many people who struggle to find their place in society.

Set against the backdrop of the countryside of America, Guadagnino interjects a tendness and beauty to these long winding roads and large sprawling areas, doing for America what Call Me by Your Name did for the Italian countryside. The characters feel more isolated in these spaces, when no one is around acceptance isn’t found in others but only yourself. Having these spaces often shared between the two lovers really adds this intimacy to their relationship, as they’ve found the one other person who understands them and willing to accept them flaws and all.

The film seems to prioritise the blossoming love between Maren and Lee as its main driving force, not the violent acts they commit. Now while that could’ve created this tonal dissonance that would have left the film leaving disjointed, it’s precisely this exchanging of tones throughout the film that makes it feel fresh and adds to the tragedy of their love. There are some ingenious edits interspersed in the film that directly juxtaposes these two tones that heightens the horror elememts as you become aware how gory and excessive, they are when it’s contrasted with a shot of the beauty of America. The score also perfectly captures this unique blending of tones, it evokes a lot of the same feelings as The Last of Us score, using a more stripped back guitar underscore that at times is loving but hides something darker underneath it that crops up in these more graphic scenes.

Chalamet as expected delivers another fantastic performance, playing his character the entire time with a hidden hurt that only becomes exposed once finding a connection in Maren. Rylance is also magnetic is this devilishly creepy role but far and and away Taylor Russell is the standout of the film. The film centres around her so she has a lot to play with, the palpable confliction you’re able to feel emenating of her as she stays on the run, both looking for acceptance but also running from her own self-acceptance.

The film’s culmination is a tragic deconstruction of this theme of acceptance, and a visceral and tense conclusion. The way that the scene plays out tragically explores what happens when one tries to force themselves into a mould instead of accepting who they are. And yes, I’m aware that this is in regards to cannibals, but I ultimately believe that the film is trying to use this as a vessel to explore self-acceptance. The final shot too, just tragically beautiful