Taylor Russell (left) as Maren and Timothée Chalamet (right) as Lee in 'Bones and All' (Yannis Drakoulidis / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures) Why would he hunt, slaughter, and feast upon human flesh if he doesn't need to?Īnd, if we the audience can be repulsed by that – and his evident choice to slaughter and eat flesh when there is abundant satiety that doesn't cause violence, pain and loss – then perhaps we need to venture a little deeper into our own psyches and ask: Why would we feast upon flesh if we don't need to? He has attached himself to an 'eater' in the form of a vile apprenticeship of sorts. He has trained himself to eat the flesh and bone of humans out of a sexual or sadistic urge.

One of the most harrowing scenes is around a bonfire, when Lee and Maren have been accosted by two men – seemingly both 'eaters.' It becomes clear, soon enough, that one of them – an off-duty policeman – is not a born cannibal. They can't participate in any social norms that require proof of identity. They cannot use their own names, nor work, nor have houses or cars.

These two humans, driven by their appetite for human flesh, have been ostracized from society for their monstrous hunger. Taylor Russell as Maren and Mark Rylance as Sully in 'Bones and All' (Yannis Drakoulidis / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures) They are silent accomplices to Lee and Maren, who watch them from a railing above. Blue lights cast a calm, ghostly glow over the place and dark-eyed cows quietly shift about in their metal-fenced cells, seemingly oblivious to their fate. It is eerily quiet without the daytime soundtrack: an industrial churn of machinery and the howls and cries of animals being shocked, stunned and slaughtered. Soon after meeting, Lee and Maren seek refuge overnight in a slaughterhouse. It is also disturbing, long after the credits roll. It is erotic – feverish with desire, need and fulfilment, however transient.

This is one element of an intricate story: a dramatic, beautiful tale of love, adolescence, growing up and navigating the moral and social codes of adults. Based on a novel by vegan author and activist Camille DeAngelis, at its heart the movie and the book prompt us to question: 'If we are so repulsed by humans eating their own flesh, why can't we extend that revulsion to eating the flesh of any and all sentient beings?' And yet, 'eaters' are not monstersīeneath the exposed, fragmented bones and the maraschino cherry-flavored blood spattering the mouths and chests of Lee (Chalamet) and Maren (Russell) is a plea for compassion. It is a lonely existence for 'eaters,' as an elderly cannibal nicknames them.

Bones and all the book