Maren Yearly (Taylor Russell, 28) is not like other girls. The teenager has an insatiable hunger for human flesh. When her single father Frank (Andrè Holland, 42) leaves her shortly after her 18th birthday with nothing but a little cash, her birth certificate and a self-recorded cassette, she sets out to look for her mother. And soon discovers that she’s not the only one with unorthodox desires.
“Bones and All” (in cinemas from November 24) takes place in America in the 1980s and is the latest work by Luca Guadagnino (51). For the film adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’ novel of the same name, the Italian director brought Timothée Chalamet (26) back on board, around five years after their first joint project “Call Me by Your Name”.
When Maren meets Chalamet’s character Lee in a supermarket, they both immediately “smell” that they have something in common. What follows is a Bonnie and Clyde-esque road trip across the states of the Midwest – and an all-consuming love affair between two teens who find themselves in one another.
Also starring in the film are Mark Rylance (62) and Michael Stuhlbarg (54) as seasoned cannibals Sully and Jake, and Chloë Sevigny (48) as Maren’s mother Janelle.
In a way, Luca Guadagnino has created a melange of two of his best-known films with “Bones and All”: The summery, light feeling of love from “Call Me by Your Name” and the cruel horror from “Suspiria” become a mix of road movie, cannibalism Horror and coming-of-age teen romance.
Anyone with weak nerves should lose their appetite for cinema popcorn with “Bones and All” thanks to numerous gruesome scenes – from minute three to minute 130. Nevertheless, Chalamet fans get their money’s worth when the actor goes far again walking around in cut-out shirts or topless. Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell also shine in terms of acting with their nuanced portrayal of the two young people trying to find their place in society.
