“I don't trust you. It doesn't matter if I'm right or wrong about that, it matters that I feel it.”

In a world where you don’t belong; how do you find belonging? When the things that you need, crush your very soul; how do you find solace? When the person you love, reminds you of all that you hate; how do you find yourself?

Bones and All is the newest screenplay by David Kajganich, based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis, and directed by Luca Guadagnino. It's a story of learning to love the simple oddity that is being alive, despite the horrors that lurk deep within you. About finding someone who understands, and holding them for as long as you can, but accepting that all things – both good and bad – will come to an end. Every moment is a chapter, every chapter is part of a larger story, and -- from time to time -- every story ventures away from where you want to be... Sometimes never to return.

Bones and All is not so much a journey, as a retrospective on how we hold onto moments that make us, break us, and change us; and what our worlds look like because of them. Some moments cause us to become reclusive, to seek something more but not want to reach too far from the shadows to get it. Some make us look for an answer to our needs… Or something to blame. We will turn our backs on some moments and refuse to face them; choosing instead to form a new future in the hopes that the old present doesn’t catch up with us once again. Most moments, however, force us on a path forwards into a strange and scary place with nary an inkling of what is to come.

What we do with these moments is what defines us, and how we look back on them is what Bones and All is truly about for me.

This all sounds very romantic, and it is. At its core, Bones is a romance through and through. However, viewer beware, this is also a certified brutal watch. There’s no sexual violence or abuse to speak of, just lots of very graphic regular violence that may not be to some viewers… tastes. However, this is something I think the film deserves a hefty amount of praise for.

Where many films will either shy away from showing the audience anything, leaving them with a sense of un-belief rather than one of surrealistic horror; Bones and All will show you things you’d sooner forget than reflect on, while also avoiding exploitation in simply being shocking and grotesque. In a weird way, for all its graphic nature, I’d call the way that Bones and All portrays its subject matter “appropriate”. We see enough to be engaged and uneasy, but not so much as to be revolted or turned away.

And this is where the genius of the crew behind Bones truly shines.

Somehow – amid this violence, pain, guilt, shame, anger, and disgust – Guadagnino and co. manage to make a touching, beautiful, and meaningful romance shine all the brighter. Aided by the stellar cinematography of Arseni Khachaturan and haunting but moving score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross [featuring an original song I think will be nominated for an Oscar], Bones and All may tarry too long for some viewers and be too intense for others, but for those that stay, the payoff is well worth the journey.

A bit like My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To meets A Ghost Story with just a dash of Raw thrown in for good measure, Bones and All is a rare showing of film willing to explore the weird while exemplifying the beautiful. Using the intense to showcase the serene. Forcing you to experience the violence, to truly understand the peace. There can be solace in solitude, belonging in being an outsider, and redemption in contempt. Be true to yourself, love honestly, and never stop seeking your peace in a world that just wants to chew you up and spit you out.

“You don't think I'm a bad person?
– All I think is that I love you.”