‘Bones and All’: Unequivocally Romantic, Unconventionally Cannibalistic
Luca Guadagnino’s latest release, “Bones and All,” starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet, is a deft fusion of the romance and horror genres.
(Tibrina Hobson via Getty Images for AFI)
by Stephanie Wong
Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers for “Bones and All.”
Luca Guadagnino’s latest feature film, “Bones and All,” is a visceral, alchemic fusion of romance and horror. From the opening scene, Guadagnino’s film is prolific with gore.
The film’s opening appears similar to that of a typical high school coming-of-age film. We are introduced to Maren (Taylor Russell) — a quiet, restrained girl with a strict father, who is a newcomer to a large public high school in Virginia. One day at school, a new friend persuades her to sneak out to a sleepover with a few other girls. Despite her father’s routine of locking her in her bedroom after dinner, she successfully makes it to the sleepover.
Her new classmates seem to be warming up to her. There are promising prospects of friendship, even the implication of a potential sapphic connection. She lies on the floor, giggling with the host, whose ring finger is being painted a new shade of nail polish: “copper fever.” She laments about the color being too orange, lifting the finger closer for Maren to take a look. Maren leans forward, places the finger gently in her mouth, and bites it off.
“Bones and All” is evidently not for everyone; several early screenings of the film have reported walk-outs by viewers who could not stomach its graphic content. Those who can bear its gory imagery, however, will likely find themselves mulling the following question: How can a film so gruesome and horrific be, simultaneously, delicate and undoubtedly romantic?
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