Even before it was released to general audiences the think pieces started coming out about Marti Noxon's directorial debut To the Bone. So many think pieces argued over whether the movie had a right to exist and the potential triggers it might have for anyone currently suffering through an eating disorder (and warning, despite Noxon's claim that she was careful not to include anything that might trigger someone with an eating disorder the film does have a few moments that feel gratuitous).
Unfortunately, on every level, it's just not a very good film. Lily Collins plays Ellen, a 20 year old wise-cracking artist with a dark sense of humour who happens to be anorexic. We first meet her as she is coming out of her latest inpatient program weighing even less than she did when she came in. Appalled, Ellen's stepmother pulls some strings and manages to get her to see Dr. Beckham whose unconventional methods are supposed to cure Ellen. He insists on yet another inpatient program which Ellen initially tries to resist, only to succumb when her younger sister pleads with her to go.
The problem is this movie isn't as interesting as it thinks it is. Anorexia is a serious subject worthy of study in fiction and in film, but even though writer/director Noxon and star Lily Collins are both in recovery from the disease their approach feels as clichéd as your average TV movie. Everything from the way that Ellen wears layered dark clothes and makes sarcastic "witty" comments that are supposed to show how great she is and wise beyond her years, to the fact that Beckham's unconventional methods seem to be the pretty conventional method of showing off things of beauty, engaging in therapy and not talking down to his patient are incredibly cringe worthy. The frustrating thing is that there are some interesting moments in the film, like how the supposedly happy go lucky model recovery patient Luke turns out to have a bit of a dark side, but even this is barely covered.
Collins is great and rises far above the material, but it's unfortunate that this passion project, which does take a couple of interesting turns, seems more committed to staying with the paint by numbers typical approach than in offering us anything truly unusual.
Unfortunately, on every level, it's just not a very good film. Lily Collins plays Ellen, a 20 year old wise-cracking artist with a dark sense of humour who happens to be anorexic. We first meet her as she is coming out of her latest inpatient program weighing even less than she did when she came in. Appalled, Ellen's stepmother pulls some strings and manages to get her to see Dr. Beckham whose unconventional methods are supposed to cure Ellen. He insists on yet another inpatient program which Ellen initially tries to resist, only to succumb when her younger sister pleads with her to go.
The problem is this movie isn't as interesting as it thinks it is. Anorexia is a serious subject worthy of study in fiction and in film, but even though writer/director Noxon and star Lily Collins are both in recovery from the disease their approach feels as clichéd as your average TV movie. Everything from the way that Ellen wears layered dark clothes and makes sarcastic "witty" comments that are supposed to show how great she is and wise beyond her years, to the fact that Beckham's unconventional methods seem to be the pretty conventional method of showing off things of beauty, engaging in therapy and not talking down to his patient are incredibly cringe worthy. The frustrating thing is that there are some interesting moments in the film, like how the supposedly happy go lucky model recovery patient Luke turns out to have a bit of a dark side, but even this is barely covered.
Collins is great and rises far above the material, but it's unfortunate that this passion project, which does take a couple of interesting turns, seems more committed to staying with the paint by numbers typical approach than in offering us anything truly unusual.