Bones And All

And Profiting Off Prisons

In regards to yesterday’s entry, at least I watched this one with someone special.

I read a review somewhere that claimed “Bones And All” was like a great Stephen King story that King had never written. With its Grand Guignol storyline, its hopeless lovers, and an ornate mythology, it certainly seems like it would take place in a shady corner of Maine where small towns pray their monsters away as they simultaneously nuzzle them to sleep at home. Credit to Luca Guadagnino, who has thus far shown himself as a filmmaker of many elaborate skills. In “Suspiria” and this, he’s now made two films with powerfully vivid horror elements, and there are considerably different vehicles for his own lushly romantic sensibility.

The first thing you notice in this film is the clutter. The striking Taylor Russell and her kindly father Andre Holland live in a trailer home on the outskirts of town. The two are happy together, but their situation is one of mild, long-ignored squalor. When Russell comes of age, she attends a sleepover with friends, only to find out a terrible truth about herself: she’s an eater, and the hunger has finally consumed her.

She is abandoned by her father, given enough resources to survive and a few written words of encouragement and support. Holland’s performance, so brief, makes this cruel gesture seem like an act of love, a tender separation much more fair than the vicious one the law would provide. From there, Russell is on a quest to find her long lost mother, a woman that may hold the key to these terrible cravings. Russell’s doe eyes take her through a series of bus rides and unmarked roads until she bumps into Mark Rylance.

This is such a magnificent performance by Rylance. He’s the one character that seems lifted out of King: you can imagine him surviving “The Stand” or whispering hints about Pennywise to the kids in “It”. Here, he’s also an eater, and he becomes a temporary father figure for how he fills in the gaps regarding Russell’s lack of knowledge regarding being an eater. Of course, Rylance is a shifty transient only interested in helping himself, so maybe the eater lore he’s picked up is window-dressed justification. Russell seems charmed by his natty thrift-shop fashion until she realizes the lack of moral dimension within his own feeding patterns. He needs company because, perhaps, he’s eaten everyone else.

Eventually, she locks eyes with Timothee Chalamet. I like this Chalamet kid a lot, I’m glad he became a star. But I’m also not entirely ready to be impressed by him. There are moments where, as a wayward dreamboy eater, he seems like he’s reciting memorized dialogue. And that Southern accent gets pretty wobbly during scenes when he’s angry. But it is entirely authentic when he grows closer to Russell, dangling his long red locks against her curly hair, pulling her close with his sinewy spaghetti arms.

As the two of them come together, he serves as her protector. There’s a wonderful short-story moment where the couple end up staying in the forest with a couple of vagrant eaters. The more vocal one is played by chameleon and frequent Guadagnino collaborator Michael Stuhlbarg. This is the magic of filmmaking: Stuhlbarg, a superb performer, is nonetheless a shot, dumpy, shapeless character actor in appearance, a man with the impressive skill of making nobodies look like somebody (I think he should have received an Oscar for the Coens’ “A Serious Man”, though he was not even nominated). In a very brief scene, Stuhlbarg comes across as both a creeper and a charmer. The young couple are alternately chilled and charmed by this dirtbag. In a fit of excellent casting, Stuhlbarg’s mostly-quiet companion is played by director David Gordon Green, who, when lit from below, displays a harrowing rictus grin, the kind you’d see on bloodthirsty henchmen in comic books. As Stuhlbarg weaves a frightening tale, Green longers over his shoulder like an insatiable gargoyle.

The movie has no larger stakes beyond the main couple, but the vibe is generally apocalyptic. The movie is a 1980’s period piece, though it feels like this life is the end of the road not only for them but for everyone around them. Rylance is the one who zips in and out of the narrative, but he seems like less of a killer and more of an opportunist, exploiting the world before it sends him into obsolescence. The question hangs over the air for Russell – what will you do when, and if, you receive closure? She doesn’t know, and with her slinky costar by her side, she cares less and less every day, as they link hands and contemplate their next meal.

In recent developments, it’s important to remember that, in Washington, one has to ask, who will benefit? The new administration has not been shy about policies that will strengthen the private prisons industry. There’s no doubt that the second Trump presidency will result in a massively expanded carceral state. We can point the blame at a highly disgruntled administration that seeks to punish anyone the Trump Department Of Justice deems an enemy.

But what of the Laken Riley Act? Why were both Democrats and Republicans so eager to pass this piece of legislation? In essence, this law allows a dismissal of the Constitution in imprisoning and detaining undocumented immigrants seemingly suspected of a crime. Why would this receive bipartisan support? Because this will also be a boon to the private prison industry, and who invests in this? Why, politicians of all stripes of course. This is an egregious example of principles that can be bought.

There is an ongoing war right now against people from Latin American countries. It seemingly doesn’t matter if you are a citizen or not, a lick of Spanish places you in their crosshairs. They’re targeting Puerto Ricans. They’re targeting MY people. And it seems that politicians of all stripes don’t mind, as long as they get a cut of the private prison shares. This is a reminder that, while Donald Trump and his friends are scum of the Earth, you don’t have any friends in Washington if you’ve got darker skin.

Join us on Monday for a week of Good Vibes!