To The Bone Review

WARNING: Due to the nature of To The Bone, this review will contain references and discussion about mental health, therapy, eating disorders (specifically anorexia nervosa) and miscarriage. If any of these things affect you negatively, please don't read on.

To The Bone is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Marti Noxon. It stars Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves. At the start, the film warns the audience that it contains realistic depictions of eating disorders that may be challenging for some viewers. The story is of 20 year old Ellie (or Eli), who has spent a large period of her life moving in and out of hospitals, where she was treated (unsuccessfully) for anorexia nervosa. However, when she comes across Threshold, a facility run by Keanu Reeves's Dr. William Beckham, an unorthodox yet passionate doctor, she starts to see hope for her future.

So, I strongly disliked pretty much everything about this film. In fact, I have no idea how it could have gone so wrong, considering Marti Noxon has suffered with an eating disorder. To The Bone is touted by the film-makers as one that's designed to be viewed by people looking for a realistic depiction of mental illness and anorexia, but that couldn't be further from the truth. When it comes to depictions of suffering and tragedy, To The Bone has a pornographic sensibility, by which I mean it's used to make people feel emotion quickly and in excess. There are no moments in this film where Marti Noxon tries to help you understand what it's like to be a person who undergoes therapy or suffers with an eating disorder. Instead, there's nothing but a parade of scenes which are designed to eke as much emotion out of the audience as possible without actually saying anything profound.

Dr. William Beckham's mantra about therapy is that he won't treat people unless they have the willingness to change their behaviour. Here, there's a fundamental misunderstanding about what it's like to have an eating disorder. How can you have the willingness to change when your mind is forcing you to do the opposite? I don't have an eating disorder myself - all I know is that if I was getting therapy under Dr. Beckham's care, I'd probably leave his clinic more damaged than when I was admitted.

There's a scene in the film in which a young pregnant woman has a miscarriage due to the fact that she was twelve weeks along and thought it would be safe to purge. This was the moment in the film where I thought everything would turn around, and the film would actually have something to say. Instead, Noxon has done nothing but use the woman's misfortune as a poor attempt to make the viewers cry. The entire film feels incredibly manipulative and instead of sad, I just found myself getting annoyed at the way very real problems were being used as entertainment.

I could go on endlessly about the stuff I hated about this film, but I'll stop myself just in case anybody does want to see it for themselves. All I really have to say is that To The Bone feels incredibly cynical and contemptible towards its characters. Where the film should be smart and insightful, it's exploitative and devoid of any real meaning. But the worst thing of all about To The Bone is that it turns real, serious problems into something to be lamented over by people who have no experience at all with them, instead of something that does justice to the people it's supposed to be depicting.

To The Bone is probably the most aggravating and unpleasant viewing experience I've had all year, and it should be avoided at all costs.

Score: F