To the Bone

I have struggled with an eating disorder since I was 15 years old. In my early twenties I didn't deal with it appropriately only to end up working for a group of wellness clinics... the biggest one for eating disorders. From here onward you can guess I had a massive anorexic/bulimic relapse (in my late 20's), and I went through my companies own in patient unit and several others... In my early 30's I finally made the leap, quit my triggering job and took a year off to heal. I did CBT (group therapy), shrink, psycho therapy, dietitian/nutritionist, etc etc. I am now I'm my mid 30's and I am FINALLY OK with myself, kinder to myself and able to accept myself as I am and enjoy food again. Why did I write this entire cathartic blurb? Because this movie is INCREDIBLY accurate and well made! Now only does it pretty much mirror my own relationship with myself and others, I really identified with the defiant and guarded girl Lily Collins portrayed! I literally broke down in tears at the mother/daughter breastfeeding scene... it made me think of my own issues with my mother and her inability to both breastfeed and connect with me. At my stage of healing I did not find it triggering, but that's not to say that those who are actively struggling with their own wellness might not benefit from watching it. All I can say is that the acting was spot on, as was the the secrecy,tortured, shameful and painful nature of eating disorders... during mine I did it all; starvation, binging, purging, cutting, overdosing, laxatives, diuretics, hiding food/puke/stool, you name it! But not anymore because, just like in this movie, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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 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 can imagine everyone that has had anorexia or knew or knows someone with it or comparable diagnosis will have a hard time watching this movie, but also will say it is true to it's theme.

This movie is hard-hitting, indeed, to the bone. I could not take my eyes off this movie, even though it is very hard to look at 'cause the look of Lily Collins and her co stars in the Strashhold are close to unbearable. But that is how it is so a story like this needed to be told. (Just like with 13 Reasons Why)

Everyone's performance is amazing and true to the characters. This needs to be seen, there are scenes that will make you bawl and probably help you being grounded more. It is also funny when it wants to be, which is not that often.

Loves this, waited for it for a year and it was worth it.