"Bones and All" by Luca Guadagnino: Between coming-of-age, road movie and heinous horror

(Without spoilers!)

Seventeen-year-old Maren Yearly has a desire that sets her apart from the rest of her classmates - one that forces her to stay out of the public eye. A desire that even sends her father running after an incident that doesn't seem to be the first of its kind. From there on, Maren is left on her own with some money and her birth certificate. With the goal of finding her birth mother, the protagonist embarks on a road trip that will show her that there are other people who share her desire.

To her surprise, Maren (Taylor Russell) learns first and foremost from a stranger that her otherness is not an isolated incident. In all his unusualness and brutality, Sully (Mark Rylance) shows her what it means to be like her, how to exist with desire on the fringes of society, what the rules are. And although Maren quickly abandons the older gentleman, he keeps showing up at her house, obsessively. Mark Rylance delivers an intangible performance in this, like a car crash that you can't look at and can't look away from. With each of his appearances, his character becomes more sinister, more repugnant, with his mere appearance causing discomfort.

After a short while, Maren meets the young, charismatic Lee (Timothée Chalamet), who immediately realizes that they share the same fate. From there on, as a spectator:in, one becomes an eyewitness:in a love that arises from the shared otherness, the same desire of the protagonists:in. Thus, for the time being, Maren and Lee sink into their need and give in to it completely. In between this devotion, it is mainly Maren who repeatedly questions the lifestyle of the two and wants to turn away from it, to discard it, which repeatedly puts their relationship to the test.

Taylor Russell, who was awarded the "Marcello Mastroianni Prize" for best young actress for her performance, and Chalamet inspire throughout the film with their acting. Above all, the development that Maren undergoes in the film - from a confused outsider to a self-confident young woman who realizes that she is not alone - is authentically portrayed by Russell. Chalamet is also convincing as Lee, from whom, as a partner, experienced fellow sufferer and also outsider, especially with his almost gaunt appearance, there is nevertheless an obvious danger. Together, the two actors:inside believably embody the growing love between Maren and Lee as well as the dichotomy their characters find themselves in.

"Bones and All" by director Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me by Your Name"), who was awarded the "Silver Lion" as best director for it, has a running time of 130 minutes and has been in German cinemas since November 24, 2022. The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by U.S. writer Camille Deangelis, is special, brutal and yet captivating. The production design, in arthouse style, vintage and slightly grainy, fitting for a road trip in the USA of the 1980s, draws you in. Nevertheless, there is no mercy for the viewer:in terms of camera work: bloody and sometimes unbearable scenes are shown mercilessly, nothing is embellished or censored. This alone leads to a moment of shock in the first five minutes, as the trailer does not reveal the actual subject of the film.

Even though "Bones and All" has its lengths and plot-less moments, as well as some unbearably brutal moments, the film still manages to create something completely new. Next to all the traditional love stories and horror films in haunted houses, it is thus a successful change, which can convince with casting, narration and performance and combines the two genres unusually.