Indie Gems: To The Bone

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Calorie Asperger's

Ellen (Lily Collins) is a young artist struggling with anorexia. Not only is she killing herself, she's killing her relationship with her family. A last ditch effort by her step mother, Susan. (Carrie Preston) sends her to live in a group home run by Dr. Beckham (Keanu Reeves)

This film got a lot of flak for the way it portrays eating disorders when it first came out. Like any time a mental illness is shown in film, there's the realism vs exploitation debate. I actually appreciated the care they took in showing all of this. Eating disorders on screen for me are shitty Lifetime movies where the bulimic girl for some reason hides jars of vomit in her closet. (because that's logical) No such foolishness goes on in To The Bone. The few "tricks" they show the girls doing to avoid food are not out there and they do not for one second shy away from how devastating these illnesses are.

Collins is really proving herself to be a capable actress. I liked her a lot here. This material was clearly close to her heart. The entire cast work really well together and there are some gorgeous shots in this movie. I can buy Reeves as the cool doctor. And this film does something that I always appreciate in film, and that's portraying the step parents as helpful. That gets overlooked so much.

Grade: A-

Watched on: Netflix Instant

Memorable Quote: "People say they love you. But what they mean is they love how loving you makes them feel about themselves." - Ellen (Lily Collins)

Comments

  1. Sonia CercaApril 8, 2018 at 3:28 PM

    I'm so glad you liked it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DellApril 8, 2018 at 11:33 PM

    This sounds like a very worthy, but tough watch. I'll work myself up to it shortly. Thanks for letting me know about this one. (jars of vomit in the closet...ewwww)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2018 at 7:25 AM

      That actually happened in a Lifetime movie I was forced to watch.

      Delete
  3. Big Screen Small WordsApril 9, 2018 at 5:57 AM

    I liked how Lily Collins took the role and made it her own. She was familiar with what her character was going through and she was able to show her character's struggle with her inner demons. The thing that annoyed me with this was her love interest. I found his character to be selfish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2018 at 7:05 AM

      I was surprised that he ended up *being* a love interest. I think he would've been more effective just staying her confidant.

      Delete
  4. GetterApril 9, 2018 at 6:42 AM

    I have looked a this one many times but it feels so heavy, that I don't want to watch it. Maybe some day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2018 at 7:03 AM

      I don't think it's too heavy, there's a light heartedness to it.

      Delete
  5. s.April 9, 2018 at 3:27 PM

    I am gonna see this one day for Keanu for sure. It looked pretty good from the trailer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2018 at 7:03 AM

      I really like his character in this. He's not in it a lot, but he's great when he is.

      Delete
  6. Often Off TopicApril 12, 2018 at 9:04 AM

    I hadn't heard about this movie till now but it sounds like a must watch for - especially for Keanu! Sounds like one of those movies you need to be in the right kind of mood for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 12, 2018 at 9:39 AM

      I wish I would've watched it sooner, it was really well done

      Delete

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