2022 AFI Film Festival: Bones and All Movie movie review

My coverage of the 2022 AFI Film Festival continues with a review of the Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet-led Bones and All. Is the movie worth checking out this Thanksgiving? Let’s dive in!

Bones and All follows Maren, a young woman trying to survive in a world she doesn’t quite understand. The movie is based on a book by Camille DeAngelis, written by David Kajganich, directed by Luca Geuadagnino, and stars Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, and Mark Rylance.

The movie begins with us seeing some friends from school invite Maren for a sleepover. She quickly tells them that her dad wouldn’t allow that, to which her friend suggest she sneak out. Later that night, that’s precisely what Maren does as soon as her father goes to sleep. However, as she is lying on the floor with her friend, she attempts to bite her friend’s finger off. Moments later, she storms home to tell her father that it happened again, and they pack their bags and head for a different state.

The opening of this movie reminds me of something Richard Jenkins said during the Dahmer press conference, “if Jeffrey Dahmer is your son, do you stop loving him? How do you deal with the fact Jeffrey Dahmer is your son?” Maren’s father wrestled with this for years, because after each time Maren crossed that line, they would have to pack up and move. Finally, one day, not knowing what to do anymore, Maren’s father left her a cassette tape, a birth certificate, and some money, leaving her alone to navigate this world.

Maren has no choice but to continue running, understanding she is on the hunt to find her mother. Shortly after being on the run, she runs into this strange old man Sully (Rylance), who says in this hunting tone of voice, “I smelt you from the yard.” Now, I’ll stop here and not mention much else that happens within the film and their relationship, as I don’t want to spoil anything. However, within this short time, she meets Lee (Chalamet), who is also on the run, and she becomes pretty smitten, and they start to hit it off.

A sense of freedom comes with being on the run from your problems. Not free of responsibilities, but the privilege of caring or connecting with only people you choose. You dictate the how and the why because you aren’t an open book because you are worried that the discovery of your past might catch up with you. The biggest problem that Maren faced was the ability of people like her to identify with the type of person she was. It perfectly depicts that no matter how safe you feel on the run, you are never free of consequences.

"There is before bones and all and then after."

Throughout this film, so many unique and different themes are touched in a way that makes you realize that even the most broken people in the world were once humans too. There is one moment where we see Lee break down to tell a story of something that happened in his past that broke me down into tears. I was not expecting to be so emotionally moved by these characters, but the way it was written, they had you eating out of the palm of their hands (pun intended).

Regarding young love, Taylor Russell had a coming-out party in this movie. My goodness, does she rip your heart out in every sense of the word. I was deeply captivated by every little movement she made. From the way she walked, talked, and slowly stepped into her own while trying to figure out this thing we call life. Russell is about to become a force to reckon with in the film world. Oh, Timothée Chalamet, how you have won me over in Bones and All. Finally, Mark Rylance gives one of the most haunting and committed performances of 2022. I am not sure I will ever be able to look at that man the same again.

Bones and All is a cinematic masterpiece 

Within this beautiful film, director Luca Guadagnino doesn’t waste a single frame. Each scene is well thought out and adds something to the story. It’s the type of movie you will have to watch more than once to see how he used certain set pieces to enhance the story. I remember one moment in the film I saw something that I saw earlier and was like, damn, he did that on purpose. Guadagnino is a genius.

On the technical side of things, Bones and All was composed by two of the best in Hollywood, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I can’t wait to own a copy of this score on vinyl because it was breathtaking. The closing moments of this film has one of the most beautiful ending shots in any movie this year. Guadagnino and Cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan did an incredible job with that.

Overall, Bones and All is the first movie of 2022 where I walked out of the theater and didn’t have one thing I would change about it. It is a cinematic masterpiece. I can’t wait to watch this movie again and make sure you don’t miss this one on the big screen.

Bones and All hits theaters on Nov. 18, 2022.