To the bone // Movie Review
- Aug 13, 2017
- 3 min read
"To the Bone" is a movie that came out on 2017. It was directed by Marti Noxon and stars Lily Collins. The movie tells us the story of a young woman dealing with anorexia and the things she goes through to try to overcome it if that's even possible or to handle her situation. She lives with her half-sister and step mom since her dad is never around. Lily Collins opened up about her experience with anorexia when she was younger and that made the story even more powerful, knowing that a person who suffered with anorexia is here to tell us the story from a very intimate point of view.
Unfortunately, the movie had very mixed reviews. Some people considered it to be very powerful while others said it was triggering teenagers to have this sort of mentality, that it sets a bad example to young teenagers, young girls especially even though boys go through this as well.
I think that all of the things the movie talks about, the images they show us make people more aware of the situation and proves that it is not an easy experience for anyone. People tend to think that if you have anorexia you can go to a facility center where they'll treat you and you'll come back "fixed". I don't think that's the case at all, I think that you must have a very strong mindset and a desire to get better and having family that supports you can really help. In this case, Lily Collins's father is not around, it seems as if he didn't know how to deal with her daughter's situation so he just tries to ignore her since it's easier to be ignorant and evade the problem rather than trying to help. Thankfully, Lily's stepmom is there every step of the way even if it's maybe too much (when she makes the cake; when she takes the picture of Lily...) at least she's always there, showing up, taking her step daughter to different doctor's appointments, taking her to the house where Lily will spend some time with the new doctor and his way of working. Lily's half-sister is very present as well and shows us how hard and sad it can be to be living with a sister that's going through anorexia, she shows that everyone is suffering in this situation.
The movie is very good at pointing out different things that girls can do while living with anorexia (puking in the bag, running in the middle of the night to burn calories, never ending crunches, excessive calorie counting, restricting, obsessing over body image, skipping breakfast) and while some people would think those are obvious things, it's a very important issue that unfortunately lots of young (or not even young) girls and boys deal with every day. The fact that the movie is so visual helps to really see the difficulty of the situation and creates an impact in us, viewers, and makes us aware of how people with anorexia are living. It can be good for a friend, a family member, a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother, a teacher or anyone to learn about this problem that maybe people who surround them are dealing with and to try to be there for them and let them know that you'll be there if they need you, help them understand that they don't need to fade away, that no matter what you'll be there by their side.
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