Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell star as two teen cannibals, Lee and Maren respectively, who meet on the backroads of the late 1980s American Midwest in Luca Guadagnino’s melancholic, genre straddling romantic horror road trip movie, Bones And All.
Adapted from Camille DeAngelis’s YA novel (which was set in the 1990s), the film is a glorious concoction made up of bloody gore and gorgeous skies, landscapes and decay to savour and get lost in.
After Maren is abandoned by her father (André Holland) she hits the road in search of the mother who she inherited her taste for flesh from. She meets some fellow ‘eaters’, including Sully (a spine-chillingly sinister Mark Rylance complete with a feather in his hat) and decides to hook up with Lee for her search. They represent two opposite sides of the outsider coin; Maren is shy and curious, and Lee a peach-haired punk rebel with a penchant for rock band Kiss. The soundtrack is a heady mix of synth and guitars, with an atmospheric score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The screenplay by David Kajganich has a keen focus on character, which makes it easy to root for the two lovers, despite their predilection for human meat. The lead actors share a sizzling chemistry, and really sell the deeply sincere dialogue associated with teen angst, and every supporting cast member turns in a memorable performance. Michael Stuhlbarg is quite brilliant as a creepy ‘eater’, alongside his companion played by director David Gordon Green.
Guadagnino nails the excitement and aching hunger of first love and the despair of loneliness with beautifully framed and artful shots of the couple in desolate surroundings with only each other to cling to. There are shades of Badlands in the images. The wonder and splendour of it all is pierced with dread, guts and blood and the horror elements are shockingly rendered.
Bones And All is an exhilaratingly daring depiction of what independence and freedom means to the disenfranchised, and it’s all shot through with potent visual poetry, dark humour and tacit social commentary. It’s one of the best films of the year.
Bones and All is in cinemas 23rd November. Read our exclusive interview with screenwriter David Kajganich and producer Theresa Park here.