Bones and All is not just a horror film. It’s a road movie. It’s a coming-of-age tale. It’s a love story. Most of all it’s a tragedy of lost youth and the irresponsibility of parental figures. Played out against the crumbling ruins of the Midwest of the late 1980s. Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All has only become more beautifully dark and tragic in the two years since its release.
Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothée Chalamet) are not just cannibals on some joy ride ala Near Dark’s nomadic vampires. Rather they’re a pair of lost youths struggling to find a place to call their own on the outskirts of society. A place where there is no order other than the order you or others make. Maren rejected by both of her parents for very different reasons is none-the-less left rudderless by a father (Andre Holland) who can no longer cope with her hunger for human flesh. Left with only a few dollars, her birth certificate, and a tape recording of his justifications. She has no choice but to flee and find some place any place that will not reject her.
After interactions with another like her, Sully (Mark Rylance), Maren flees as all of her instincts tell her that the old man is not right. Beyond the dangers of a young woman with a lecherous older man, Sully is the most apex of predators – one who lulls his prey into the warmness of safety and order. He gifts her “rules” to live by but one can instantly tell that this is a man who’s appetite and disposition never lives by rules or order. Rylance’s performance is as nightmarish as any put-on screen recently.
It’s a moment in a grocery store that Maren finds her “puzzle piece” in Lee. Though it isn’t an instant relationship. There is a tension between the two. One of the most wonderful aspects of the film and the adaptation by David Kajganich does is create unease throughout. Nothing is given and everything is earned, including Maren’s trust in Lee and vice versa. The movie’s heart is their constant struggle to somehow find each other as they are light years away – though share a space. Guadagnino use of space in relations to emotion is so gently heartbreaking. One only need to watch as Lee and Maren do finally connect, it is under the vast skies of the open plains of the Midwest – the infinite possibilities surround them as they find love and a connection.
Though like any true connection, Lee and Maren’s is one that is fleeting. Bones and All understands even the strongest of bonds can beat anything but at a cost. As the two lovers discover that cost it is too much for them, and us. Lee screaming in agony to Maren, “eat me” is a call for her to ingest everything he is – to remember him as he was – youth, beauty, craven hunger, all of it. Chalamet has never been more perfect for a role and a moment in his career so far. The wiry actor half coyote, half hard-edge razor unable or unwilling to lose his calm until the end.
It is in this moment we see the hardening of Maren. Taylor Russell is phenomenal in the role, charting the journey from lost girl to grown woman. The betrayals, the small victories, the lessons learned, the intimacy found are all played beautifully on Russell’s face and eyes. Guadagnino understands this and keeps us at a distance to show us how she cautiously interacts with the world. Even as a predator, the world is a dark and dangerous place. That fear and unease is something that Russell never lets us forget.
Bones and All is a movie of uncommon understanding of how hard it is to connect to a human. How tenuous that connection can be even if found. That sometimes the world is against you as much as you are against yourself. Bones and All also understands how precious those moments are and to cherish them as they are as fleeting as the air we breathe.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Presentation from the Original Elements presented in Dolby Vision is stunning. The movie filmed in 3 Perf Super35 and finished Digitally in 4K is a beautifully verbose filmic image. The Dolby Vision encoding brings the luminous of the image to life making even the darkest of scenes come to live. There is a beautiful patina of film grain that runs throughout though slight still omnipresent giving the entire transfer that “chemical” feeling of film. Having watched the film on two different 4K monitors (a 28” LG and an 85” Sony) and one 4K projector (LG Short Throw) and the results were all the same… perfection. There is nary a scratch, defect, or artifacts present on the image. Bones and All is a reference quality transfer, full stop, no further explanation needed.
The Extras
They include the following;
“A Look Inside”
Luca Guadagnnino: The Vision of Bones And All
“Meet Lee”
“Meet Maren”
“Outsiders In Love”
Theatrical Trailer
NOTE: All special features reside on the Blu-ray disc.
“A Look Inside” (2:23) – a brief EPK-style look at the film and the relationship between Maren and Lee. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
Luca Guadagnino: The Vision of Bones and All (1:32) – a brief EPK-style look at what director Luca Guadagnino brings to this specific film. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, and director Guadagnino.
“Meet Lee” (2:06) – a brief EPK-style look at the character of Lee played by Timothée Chalamet. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
“Meet Maren” (1:32) – a brief EPK-style look at the character of Maren played by Taylor Russell. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
“Outsiders In Love” (1:52) – a brief EPK-style look at the unique love story the film tells. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
Theatrical Trailer (2:22)
The Final Thought
Bones and All is a stone-cold masterpiece. Scream Factory has given a beautiful 4K edition it deserves. Highest Recommendations!!!
Luca Guadagnino’s horror romance masterpiece Bones and All comes to 4K UHD with a revelatory new transfer thanks to Scream Factory.
The Film
Bones and All is not just a horror film. It’s a road movie. It’s a coming-of-age tale. It’s a love story. Most of all it’s a tragedy of lost youth and the irresponsibility of parental figures. Played out against the crumbling ruins of the Midwest of the late 1980s. Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All has only become more beautifully dark and tragic in the two years since its release.
Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothée Chalamet) are not just cannibals on some joy ride ala Near Dark’s nomadic vampires. Rather they’re a pair of lost youths struggling to find a place to call their own on the outskirts of society. A place where there is no order other than the order you or others make. Maren rejected by both of her parents for very different reasons is none-the-less left rudderless by a father (Andre Holland) who can no longer cope with her hunger for human flesh. Left with only a few dollars, her birth certificate, and a tape recording of his justifications. She has no choice but to flee and find some place any place that will not reject her.
After interactions with another like her, Sully (Mark Rylance), Maren flees as all of her instincts tell her that the old man is not right. Beyond the dangers of a young woman with a lecherous older man, Sully is the most apex of predators – one who lulls his prey into the warmness of safety and order. He gifts her “rules” to live by but one can instantly tell that this is a man who’s appetite and disposition never lives by rules or order. Rylance’s performance is as nightmarish as any put-on screen recently.
It’s a moment in a grocery store that Maren finds her “puzzle piece” in Lee. Though it isn’t an instant relationship. There is a tension between the two. One of the most wonderful aspects of the film and the adaptation by David Kajganich does is create unease throughout. Nothing is given and everything is earned, including Maren’s trust in Lee and vice versa. The movie’s heart is their constant struggle to somehow find each other as they are light years away – though share a space. Guadagnino use of space in relations to emotion is so gently heartbreaking. One only need to watch as Lee and Maren do finally connect, it is under the vast skies of the open plains of the Midwest – the infinite possibilities surround them as they find love and a connection.
Though like any true connection, Lee and Maren’s is one that is fleeting. Bones and All understands even the strongest of bonds can beat anything but at a cost. As the two lovers discover that cost it is too much for them, and us. Lee screaming in agony to Maren, “eat me” is a call for her to ingest everything he is – to remember him as he was – youth, beauty, craven hunger, all of it. Chalamet has never been more perfect for a role and a moment in his career so far. The wiry actor half coyote, half hard-edge razor unable or unwilling to lose his calm until the end.
It is in this moment we see the hardening of Maren. Taylor Russell is phenomenal in the role, charting the journey from lost girl to grown woman. The betrayals, the small victories, the lessons learned, the intimacy found are all played beautifully on Russell’s face and eyes. Guadagnino understands this and keeps us at a distance to show us how she cautiously interacts with the world. Even as a predator, the world is a dark and dangerous place. That fear and unease is something that Russell never lets us forget.
Bones and All is a movie of uncommon understanding of how hard it is to connect to a human. How tenuous that connection can be even if found. That sometimes the world is against you as much as you are against yourself. Bones and All also understands how precious those moments are and to cherish them as they are as fleeting as the air we breathe.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Presentation from the Original Elements presented in Dolby Vision is stunning. The movie filmed in 3 Perf Super35 and finished Digitally in 4K is a beautifully verbose filmic image. The Dolby Vision encoding brings the luminous of the image to life making even the darkest of scenes come to live. There is a beautiful patina of film grain that runs throughout though slight still omnipresent giving the entire transfer that “chemical” feeling of film. Having watched the film on two different 4K monitors (a 28” LG and an 85” Sony) and one 4K projector (LG Short Throw) and the results were all the same… perfection. There is nary a scratch, defect, or artifacts present on the image. Bones and All is a reference quality transfer, full stop, no further explanation needed.
The Extras
They include the following;
NOTE: All special features reside on the Blu-ray disc.
“A Look Inside” (2:23) – a brief EPK-style look at the film and the relationship between Maren and Lee. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
Luca Guadagnino: The Vision of Bones and All (1:32) – a brief EPK-style look at what director Luca Guadagnino brings to this specific film. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, and director Guadagnino.
“Meet Lee” (2:06) – a brief EPK-style look at the character of Lee played by Timothée Chalamet. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
“Meet Maren” (1:32) – a brief EPK-style look at the character of Maren played by Taylor Russell. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
“Outsiders In Love” (1:52) – a brief EPK-style look at the unique love story the film tells. Comments by actors Russell, Chalamet, Rylance, and director Guadagnino.
Theatrical Trailer (2:22)
The Final Thought
Bones and All is a stone-cold masterpiece. Scream Factory has given a beautiful 4K edition it deserves. Highest Recommendations!!!
Scream Factory’s 4K UHD Edition of Bones and All is out November 26th
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