To the Bone

This one's tricky.

It has beautiful shots, great acting, charming potential. It has humor. It has frightening appearances of semi-well known actors thin as paper to pull off their roles. I'm impressed with Lily Collins' acting. I'm impressed with the message that the movie is trying to pull off.

So what's the tricky part, you ask?

There is way too much hinted at that never gets resolution. Some of the house-members get nothing for story. Some of their behaviors never get explanation. Expulsions are hinted at, but never resolved.

What we have here is that tricky realm of trying to make a movie without beating the audience over the head with a message, and that's just plain hard to do. It's a tightrope walk, and should you veer too far over one side (or the other), you're going down.

This is okay if your focus is only on Ellen's story, while you stop caring about the rest of them, but... They bring them too close to Ellen and too close to the nature of what they are trying to combat to simply disregard them later on, which is where you run into trouble with "message movies".

I always think of the tightrope walk that was Norman Jewison's ...And Justice For All, starring Al Pacino. Talk about being beaten over the head with a message... and yet Jewison still managed to make at least an enjoyable story about it.

But it wasn't Rollerball. It didn't have a driving theme throughout the movie that used its message only as backdrop, while it pushed Jonathan E and his quest to find a way to keep playing the game he loved, even while everything and everyone was trying to push him out. There, the message was behind the story, and we still got it.

Here, the message drives the story, and that doesn't nearly work as well.

I will say this, that it does bring to light a lot about eating disorders and the way the world looks at eating disorders, and there certainly is a lot here that works well at trying to understand how difficult it is to heal from such a thing.

I only wish there was a better movie, behind it all.

Do NOT watch this if you have suffered from an eating disorder. It is vert difficult to handle even if the disorder has long been recovered from. The movie weirdly enough made me want to stop eating again. I had to stop watching it halfway through. I do NOT recommend! However, for people who have not suffered from eating disorders, please do watch! It helps people gain a better understanding, which is why I gave it a 6/10.

I wanted to review this movie since it hits close to home. I have battled anorexia since I was 13. I think the movie was good about showing what it is like minus the family stuff. ..obviously that is for each individual. I also did not have my period for a long time and overly exercised even if I saw white spots. The only reason I went to a doctor at 15 is because after a couple years of me "embarassing" my mother in front of the church or her teachers at school, people kept asking why she wouldn't do anything (and she cares what strangers think) . She finally took me to a psychologist and lo and behold that lady had anorexia when she was younger and basically gave me death stares. ..& said almost all of the things in the movie that they tell her in the beginning like "just eat" , "your organs are going to fail", threatening a tube in my nose etc. It was almost like a newly sober person that suddenly despises anyone who uses and needs them to be on their level OR else. That was my experience with that psychologist. And the things I mentioned they tell you. ..That is like telling a smoker not to smoke. If it was that easy, no one would smoke or have anorexia for years. Needless to say, I did not see her for long then I saw a couple people (psychiatrists) after that but never for very long.

Anyway, if I had had a doctor that got it more like Keanu or a program like that then maybe I would have gotten better sooner, especially with him not being interested in the family or food talk like most. One thing that did bug me is how many chances she got. .I get some people's families might could do that but kind of not unrealistic for a lot. Anyone who does not have an eating disorder, I do not think this movie glorifies eating disorders. It might stir up OLD feelings, but if you are over it enough, you can be objective and empathetic. Even if you are in the depths of an eating disorder, you are just going to be like yup, yup...that is how it is even though it really does not go too far into the overthinking since it more about the girl's journey. I do not think it would trigger anyone more unless they are younger like 13 to 18 because I use to get more ideas from documentaries, books, and movies about anorexia to be honest. BUT from someone who used to get those ideas from those things, I really would not get many, if any, from this movie.

This was the perfect opportunity to clear up so many myths about eating disorders, especially anorexia. But we saw Hollywood's version of recovery and their version of Anorexia Nervosa an often fatal mental illness.

They should have addressed so many real issues but they padded it out with fluff.

Now, this is purely my opinion and if you disagree all the power to you. However, I have struggled with anorexia for most of my life, since I was seven in fact. I was lucky enough to never end up in a clinic, but I do know what they are like. This whole "we won't force you to eat or do room searches" just isn't accurate. If you do get to the point where you have to do inpatient, it's nothing like this. You can expect to sit with others and finish your food in a certain amount of time, and you have to (or say hello to the tube or soylent). You can expect room searches for things such as vomit stashes, diet pills, razors, and just about anything else. Forget trying to secretly burn calories because they will literally sit you down and have some one watch you to make sure you aren't so much as tapping a finger.

On the other hand I think this movie did it's best and I appreciate all the actors and directors hard work. However I really don't think this portrays what living with an eating disorder is like. The control aspect they definitely nailed, how family members handle disorders and inpatient treatment I feel was gravely off. Of course I only have my experience and those that have been willing to share theirs with me.