Review of Bones and All (2022) by Moviemitch96 — 22 Nov 2022

A young girl (Taylor Russell) who discovers cannibalistic urges emerging from within her embarks cross country where she meets and falls in love with a young drifter (Timothee Chalamet), who happens to be just like her.

Based on the little-read YA novel of the same name, I went into this one not expecting much, and that's exactly what I got out of it. The previews and marketing made it look like yet another sappy and cliche-riddled YA romance, and that's pretty much what it was, but it was hard to expect anything more or better knowing it was based off a YA romantic novel.

It also very obviously borrows influence from road/crime dramas and films of old, such as 'Badlands' and maybe even a little 'Bonnie and Clyde' mixed in while also heavily sticking to the YA romance formula to try and attract the younger demographic.

While we do get a kinda cool musical score from the always reliable Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, along with some great performances from Russell and Chalamet (and even Mark Rylance in a genuinely creepy and sinister role), not even them or their chemistry is enough to overcome the predictable cliches and tropes that far too often accompany YA romance.

Furthermore, much like the characters, the film simply seems to just wander with no true purpose or end destination in sight, which felt all the more apparent by the film's end. By the time it ended, I was just rolling my eyes at it all.

Overall, it's certainly an interesting (and rather bloody and gross) ride while it lasts, and Russell, Chalamet, and Rylance are great, but none of that offsets the bloody sappiness of the whole ordeal.

In short, they could've just as easily called this 'Twilight with Cannibals' and it would've been completely fitting.