The reviews have arrived for the Timothée Chalamet cannibal film Bones & All, and most critics agree that the film is an off-putting but beautiful romance. The film, which re-teams Chalamet with Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino, is based on the 2015 Camille DeAngelis novel of the same name with the adapted screenplay written by David Kajganich, who previously collaborated with the director on A Bigger Splash and Suspiria. That 2018 horror movie, which was a remake of the 1977 Dario Argento film of the same name, was Guadagnino's first foray into the horror genre, which he will be returning to with Bones & All.
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Set in the 1980s, Bones & All is a combination of the horror, romance, and road trip genres. It will follow two young lovers who also happen to be cannibals: Lee (Chalamet) and Maren (Taylor Russell of the Escape Room franchise). The rest of the ensemble cast includes several other folks who have worked with the director before, including Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name), Jessica Harper (Suspiria), and Chloé Sevigny (We Are Who We Are). The list of Guadagnino newcomers is no less stacked and includes Moonlight's André Holland, Bridge of Spies Oscar winner Mark Rylance, and Blumhouse Halloween trilogy director David Gordon Green, who was once attached to direct Suspiria before it went to Guadagnino.
The film, which has been hotly anticipated both because of its unique concept and its many connections to Guadagnino's past successes, premiered today at the 79th annual Venice International Film Festival ahead of its official release on November 23. Now that the film has been screened for the first time, many critics are able to share their thoughts on this new intriguing project. While they differ on the specifics of how well it breathes emotional life into its startling premise (as well as how interesting it is to watch), they nearly all agree that Guadagnino hasn't lost his touch as a craftsman. Both leads are also being heaped with praise for fearlessly committing to what the film asks of them. Check out selected quotes from various critics below:
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian:
The flesh-eating compulsion portrayed in Bones and All is very different from the cannibalism of Hannibal Lecter, which is far more cynical and worldly. Nor is it simply a YA metaphor for rebellion and marginalisation and dissenting identity politics, mischievously designed for a young audience who have probably embraced veganism. It is also about poverty and homelessness, the ruthlessness of survival and the secret shame of that special sort of hunger that stays with you even when you do survive. Bones And All is an extravagant and outrageous movie: scary, nasty and startling in its warped romantic idealism.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety:
The film is two hours and 10 minutes long, and despite the period hook of its 1988 setting, almost nothing of interest happens in it. It sprawls all over the U.S., and the images have a travelogue sensuality, but “Bones and All” is a concept in search of a story. The film doesn’t draw us in. It stumbles and lurches and seems to make itself up as it goes along. You may feel eaten alive with boredom.
Leila Latif, IndieWire:
If this proves a star-making turn for Taylor Russell, the way that “Call Me By Your Name” proved for Chalamet, then it will be well deserved, a testimony to Guadagnino’s casting prowess (one infamous alleged cannibal aside). The film opens itself up successfully to myriad readings, potentially speaking about everything from intergenerational trauma, to queer love, to addiction. But “Bones & All” is fundamentally a beautifully realized and devastating, tragic romance which at multiple moments would have Chekhov himself weeping as the trigger is pulled.
Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair:
Presumably by design, Bones and All is not one of Guadagnino’s beautiful objects. There are some lovely shots of the American landscape, but otherwise this is a drab and grimy film. We’re spared much hardcore gore, but there’s still plenty of crunch and gush and squish. (The foley work in the movie is appropriately stomach-turning.)
David Rooney, THR:
While no shortage of blood flows, and it would be a stretch to call the handling of the cannibalism, ahem, tasteful, audiences with an aversion to gore are unlikely to be too ruffled by those elements. That’s perhaps because Guadagnino has made a kind of emo horror movie. He’s far less interested in the shock factor than the poignant isolation of his young principal characters and the life raft they come to represent to one another as they slowly let down their guard.
Damon Wise, Deadline:
There is a lot — no pun intended — to chew on here, about people who feel disenfranchised, unloved and unwanted. The ending may disappoint, but it also ensures the film will have a life as an imperfect masterpiece, the best kind of cult film, after all.
Although their score is still being updated as more reviews roll in, at the time of writing Bones & All has a strong 91% rating on the review aggregation platform. If that rating holds strong, it will be the best-rated film for Chalamet since his appearance in the 2019 Best Picture nominee Little Women. It would also ride high as Guadagnino's second-highest rated work, after Call Me By Your Name, which nabbed a Certified Fresh 94%.
From the looks of things, Bones & All is a return to form for the Call Me By Your Name duo. Its arthouse sensibilities may not entirely appeal to people who came to the popular young star from projects like the sci-fi blockbuster Dune – Part One. However, it will likely provide another notch in his belt come awards season, with some already indicating that he could be in the awards conversation once again. Just as much praise is being leveled at Russell, with some considering this a breakout role for the young actress.