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If you haven’t seen it yet, Bones and All stars Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet in a grizzly yet touching coming-of-age cannibal film. It’s Chalamet and director Luca Guadagnino’s second collaboration after Call Me By Your Name, and you might be surprised to hear that it’s no less romantic. The movie finds Russell’s character, Maren, attempting to make friends in a new town, but we soon learn there’s a reason she’s been keeping her distance. When things go south at a sleepover, she is forced to leave town. It’s best not to know too many details, but the movie follows Maren as she road-trips around the country. Along the way, she meets several strangers — one being Chalamet’s character Lee.
Bones and All is tense and creepy, and doesn’t skimp on the gore. With that being said, it’s also a delicately played exploration of otherness, identity, and how marginalization can heighten a romantic connection. In an interview with Much Music, Chalamet says the characters feeling like outsiders “strengthens that bond,” because they feel “so pure in that connection […] because it’s so rare.” The two sides of this movie work hand in hand with the gruesome nature of the cannibal element putting the romantic element into a more extreme light. In this way, the audience is swept along on the ride with Maren and Lee.
This is not simply a list of more cannibal movies — these recommendations contain complementary themes, ideas, and maybe a little bit of people-eating too. If you left the Bones and All theater craving more of that delicious all-consuming central relationship, these are for you.
1/6 Thoroughbreds (2017)
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke, as Lily and Amanda, Thoroughbreds tells the story of two teenage girls living in an upper-class suburban neighborhood. After an incident where Amanda euthanizes her horse with a knife, her mother decides to pay Lily to be her friend. They form an unlikely bond through their shared abjection and plan a high-stakes scheme to solve each other’s problems. The relationship between these two girls is reminiscent of the relationship between Maren and Lee in Bones and All. Both are connections forged between people who have been cast aside by their peers for being other. Vanity Fair describes the two girls as “feeding off each other like soul-sick vampires.” There is also a twisted morality in both movies. The two pairs are doing things that are illegal or antisocial, yet the empathetic lens through which we watch them allows these things to make sense.
2/6 Breathe (2014)
Breathe, or Respire, is a French movie that follows quiet teenager Charlie as she makes a new and exciting friendship with popular girl Sarah. Their relationship gets very intense very quickly as Charlie is so grateful for her attention and friendship. Charlie’s intense feelings spiral out of control when Sarah tires of her and things take a turn for the worse. It may be less of a pure connection than the one between Maren and Lee, but the all-consuming nature of both pairings makes for an interesting comparison. In Breathe we can see how these incredibly intense links can rapidly turn dark. Without spoiling either movie, the two endings create a fascinating parallel.
3/6 Wonderstruck (2017)
Director Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck interweaves two storylines, one in 1927 and another 1977. Both plots follow young deaf characters in search of someone they’re missing. In 1927, we see Rose searching for the actress Lillian Mayhew; in 1977, Ben sets out looking for his estranged father. This movie’s connection to Bones and All relies much more on the sweeter elements of Maren and Lee’s story. Wonderstruck is tender and gentle, the kind of movie that renews your faith in humanity. The way its characters find and connect with each other against all odds is truly touching. Ben’s search for a parental figure also mirrors the journey made by Maren. Additionally, the cannibalism in Bones and All can be seen as a metaphor for countless things — anything that makes you different from the rest of the world — and absolutely draws a thread between the isolation of the characters in Wonderstruck and Bones and All.
4/6 Raw (2016)
In complete opposition to Wonderstruck, Raw has a direct, flesh-eating connection to Bones and All. The movie follows Justine, a vegetarian going to university to become a vet. Not long after arriving at university, she develops a craving for human flesh. In a similar vein to many of these movies, this craving spirals out of control. Justine becomes increasingly isolated from her peers as her behavior becomes more erratic and animalistic. Raw stands in opposition to Bones and All, somewhat acting as a cautionary tale for the importance of human connection and guidance.
5/6 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
In this English-language adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, we find down-and-out journalist Mikael Blomkvist looking to solve a cold murder case to salvage his reputation. Along the way, he recruits Lisbeth Salander, a hacker with a troubled personal life. The two slowly begin to trust each other, and this connection empowers Lisbeth to begin to see a future for herself. Although there is no cannibalism in this film, it is dark and gritty with some graphic violence. Similarly to Bones and All, this backdrop heightens the tenderness in the blossoming connection between Mikael and Lisbeth.
6/6 Thelma and Louise (1991)
Ending on a brighter note, Thelma and Louise has a surprising number of parallels with Bones and All. The movie covers sexual assault and murder, with the two main characters being on the run from the police for most of the run-time. Thelma and Louise bond very deeply over the course of their journey, becoming irrevocably connected in a way that mirrors Maren and Lee’s road trip and subsequent iron-clad bond. Both pairs are forced into situations that are less than savory, but are necessary for their survival. Although the endings are not identical, they both follow the same thematic trajectory and once you pay attention to the parallels it is difficult to no longer see them.
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