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Genres
Drama, Comedy
Director
Marti Noxon
Country
USA
Cast
Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, Alex Sharp, Liana Liberato, Brooke Smith, Leslie Bob, Kathryn Prescott, Ciara Quinn Bravo, Maya Eshet, Lindsay McDowell, Retta, Joanna Sanchez, Alanna Ubach
Storyline
20-year-old Ellen (Lily Collins) enters a group home run by an unconventional doctor (Keanu Reeves) as her latest attempt at healing from anorexia.
Opinion
To the Bone came to my attention a couple of weeks ago when the media across the world labelled it as a movie promoting anorexia. Having suffered from an eating disorder myself, I was very curious to see it. And frankly, I don't think it does such a thing. If anything, it can be an eye opener for those suffering from this illness.
Though the story of Ellen and through her eyes, the film offers a good insight on anorexia and eating disorders in general. It is quite hard to sit through, especially if you have gone through something similar - watching Ellen obsessively doing all those sit-ups to burn calories, scrapping the bread of the chicken breast, well, I went through that and it was almost unbearable for me to watch. All I could think of was, I cannot believe I used to do this to myself. It's experience that tells me this movie has the potential to help.
Truly astonishing is the lead, Lily Collins. Although at times her character is making fun of the illness, laughing about spitting food or using laxatives, and it doesn't seem to have a lot of depth or care for the illness - I have to say though that Noxon crafted a very detailed character -, it's thought Lily Collins's eyes that Ellen's suffering transpires. She is really excellent.
However, To the Bones isn't perfect. While it is interesting and engaging and it has a nice balance of dark humour and drama, the story is a bit flawed. The romantic subplot has too much room and takes away the focus from the main storyline. Also, the ending is pretty terrible. It feels like Noxon was out of time and had to finish as soon as possible. It's just not the right ending for the film.
That said, overall this is a pretty good film, so, if you have Netflix, I do recommend you give it a chance.
Though the story of Ellen and through her eyes, the film offers a good insight on anorexia and eating disorders in general. It is quite hard to sit through, especially if you have gone through something similar - watching Ellen obsessively doing all those sit-ups to burn calories, scrapping the bread of the chicken breast, well, I went through that and it was almost unbearable for me to watch. All I could think of was, I cannot believe I used to do this to myself. It's experience that tells me this movie has the potential to help.
Truly astonishing is the lead, Lily Collins. Although at times her character is making fun of the illness, laughing about spitting food or using laxatives, and it doesn't seem to have a lot of depth or care for the illness - I have to say though that Noxon crafted a very detailed character -, it's thought Lily Collins's eyes that Ellen's suffering transpires. She is really excellent.However, To the Bones isn't perfect. While it is interesting and engaging and it has a nice balance of dark humour and drama, the story is a bit flawed. The romantic subplot has too much room and takes away the focus from the main storyline. Also, the ending is pretty terrible. It feels like Noxon was out of time and had to finish as soon as possible. It's just not the right ending for the film.
That said, overall this is a pretty good film, so, if you have Netflix, I do recommend you give it a chance.
I want to see this one. I'm kind of bothered by all the flack at this and 13 Reasons Why get. It's almost like you can't win. If you talk about mental illness, you're exploiting it, yet it needs to be talked about.
ReplyDeleteI know, that's why I don't get it.
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