What we know about Timothée Chalamet’s new cannibal romance film (so far)

Content warning: Depiction of gore

The long wait is over, folks. The much-anticipated second collaboration between Timothée Chalamet and “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino is slowly giving us a bigger peek before its Philippine premiere this month. 

But first, allow us to refresh your memory on “Bones and All,” the upcoming coming-of-age tale. It dwells on the first love between two teenage cannibals: Maren (Taylor Russell), a young woman who learns to get through on the margins of society, and Lee (Timothée Chalamet), a disenfranchised drifter.

Following its premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 2, “Bones and All” scored the Silver Lion Best Director Award for Luca Guadagnino and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actress for Taylor Russell. Given these prizes, it seems that a huge shocker awaits all dark film junkies.

Now, it’s time to dissect what lies behind “Bones and All.” Here’s what we know about the movie so far:

It might not be the coming-of-age story you could easily breeze through—unless you can handle dark twists

“Bones and All” doesn’t only revolve around transforming its characters (as expected from a typical coming-of-age story). This movie is tagged under romance, accompanied by layers of horror and mystery. But according to Rotten Tomatoes, this R-rated film also depicts bloody and violent themes, nudity, strong language, and sexual content.

As for what comes with its love story, the cannibalistic couple embarks on a thousand-mile road trip across America in the 1980s. As they search for Maren’s long-lost father, something strange disrupts their quest.

In an interview with SFX, Timothée talked about getting into character. “For me, it felt like cannibalism was a metaphor for what your ancestors leave you with—your immediate parents, but also the trauma that you’ve lived with from generations past,” he said. “You wrestle with that. Sometimes it’s something you can actually overcome and break the cycle. And sometimes a curse remains a curse and a blemish remains a blemish.”

It’s based on the 2015 novel by Camille DeAngelis

“Bones and All” is adapted from Camille DeAngelis’ 2015 novel of the same name. In 2016, it bagged the Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and American Library Association. The storyline is said to tackle issues like feminism, loneliness, and self-loathing. So aside from the explicit themes in the movie mentioned above, expect some hard-hitting personal epiphanies—if the movie doesn’t lose the novel’s original story.

“Bones and All” is ready to take a stopover for local screenings

Guadagnino’s film is scheduled to premiere in Philippine cinemas on Nov. 23. Good thing the QCinema International Film Festival is here to serve us an earlier peek into its thrilling tale.

If your guts aren’t ready for this, don’t fret: Wong Kar-Wai’s “In The Mood For Love,” a pile of diverse Asian films, and some of our own local gems will also grace the festival. Just peep the schedule here.

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Stills from “Bones and All” trailer