Review: To the Bone
When we first meet Ellen (Lily Collins) in writer-director Marti Noxon's semi-autobiographical To the Bone, she's tossing some pretty cold water on a fellow in-patient's sob story. "There's no point in blaming anybody. Live with it," she snarks. It's no wonder the doctors deem her defiant and a bad influence on the other girls in the facility.
Ellen is an anorexic, a "rexie" just out of another turn at yet another live-in facility. She's housed by her well-meaning stepmother Susan (Carrie Preston), who spends her time making excuses for Ellen's constantly absent father when not reminding Ellen that one of the conditions for living with them is that she needs to maintain her weight. Susan's worry and exasperation make it clear that this is not the first time she has heard Ellen's hollow promises that she has it under control. No less tired of Ellen's blithe unconcern for her condition is kid sister Kelly (Liano Liberato), who urges her to really try this time. Everyone wants Ellen to get better but it's not up to them, it's up to Ellen.
"I don't feel unhealthy," Ellen tells Dr. Beckham (Keanu Reeves), who runs an unconventional group home called Threshold. He's not the type to scare his patients straight, but he cuts through her defensive quips and Ellen intuits that her usual tricks won't work on him. He knows the bruises on her spine are from all the sit-ups she does and that the fur on her arms is because her body is doing what it can to keep her warm. There's something different about the way the avuncular doctor treats her and Threshold itself feels unlike any of the previous centers she's tried. For one thing, there are no doors in many of the rooms, cutting down on the opportunities for them to do covert exercise. There's a points system that allows them to level up and get extra privileges. During dinners, they're told they can eat what they want, whether it's a plate of pasta or a single pretzel so long as they maintain their weight or move towards their goal weight. "Only you can decide to see what's good to be alive," one of the therapists emphasises.
One of the many remarkable things about To the Bone is its avoidance of pat answers, whether it be defining the root of Ellen's anorexia or its cure. Noxon shows how many circumstances in Ellen's life - a complicated home life, a particularly tragic incident that leads to a loss of her sole creative outlet - could have contributed, but Noxon deftly sidesteps the usual cause and effect traps. Likewise, there's no easy fix for either Ellen or her fellow Threshold rexies. Recovery is a fragile, ongoing process that can be easily undone. Both Noxon and Collins have been vocal about having had eating disorders, and their personal experiences lend an insight to the film that it otherwise may not have had; for example, the small but telling gesture of Ellen encircling her upper arm with her hand. Or the terrible yet funny scene of an empty chocolate wrapper being sniffed and passed around.
Noxon's trademark ability of being able to inject humour in the darkest of subject matters has always served her well (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer and unREAL, shows she has both written for and produced), and it prevents To the Bone from feeling like a feature film version of a TV Afterschool Special or Lifetime movie. There's an enormous deal of nuance and warmth and humanity in the film, and the textured richness of all of the performances only add to its excellence. Collins delivers her first genuinely great performance, combining her natural star quality with a depth of feeling heretofore unseen. Not to be overlooked is Liberato, who also gives an affecting portrayal. When she shares how her own memories are defined by Ellen's disease (looking at her prom photo makes her remember how Ellen was in the hospital), it's a heartbreaking moment that also makes Ellen aware how her disease truly affects those closest to her.
Powerful, harrowing but also filled with snappy dialogue, To the Bone is an inspiring tale and an essential one, all the more so because it shows that there is not necessarily a The End to Ellen's battle but rather a To Be Continued.
To the Bone
Directed by: Marti Noxon
Written by: Marti Noxon
Starring: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Liana Liberato, Alex Sharp, Leslie Bibb, Alanna Ubach, Kathryn Prescott, Lili Taylor, Brooke Smith, Retta
