To The Bone is a Netflix original movie about a girl struggling with anorexia. She gets sent to a house for inpatient treatment.
Like 13 reasons why, it doesn't perfectly show how mental illness works but it does it better than most other things and doesn't stray away from the more serious aspects of the issue.
In the movie, they even show how thin her body is and when I watched it with my mom, she outwardly gasped from how thin she was. I'm not addressing the themes though. I don't really need to, it's pretty self explanatory.
I'm more addressing some of the controversy with the movie and some of the issues I had with it.
I don't know how but somehow people think the movie glorified eating disorders. Which is entirely wrong. It actually paints eating disorders carefully. That there's reason behind why they do it and make sure to say that while they're not in the right for acting on the disorder, there are reason as to why they do. Those crying glorification clearly only saw the trailer.
One of the actors even said that those who say that it glorifies eating disorders clearly only have seen the trailer. The actress who said that was the main lead. Why would they even glorify such a thing anyway? Both the director and the lead actress have gone through having eating disorders.
Like 13 Reason Why, I find this to be a very important thing to have been made because it starts a conversation and addresses mental disorders nicely.
I watched it with my mom and I found it to be a very important watch even if you just have a mental disorder and not an eating disorder because there are scenes in this that are relatable to me.
Like how her step mom talks to her, not realizing that it's not easy to get over mental illness. Or during the group therapy session, how the parents are constantly trying to pin point one reason for it when there's never one sole reason and sometimes not a reason at all. Or that feeling of being such a problem that the main character says time and time again with no one listening.
Now, saying all this, I do have a problem with the movie.
The ending.
At the end she goes out and just walks through the desert around her real mom's home. And she ends up running out of energy and passing out. This scene where she realizes that she's fucked herself over happens and it ends happily.
Personally, I think it should have ended when she passed out leaving in an ambiguous final note. It would have been more impactful because it leaves you wondering if she survives or not and would leave a message that it takes a decision and your willingness to get better. It could be like you putting yourself in her place. It's up to you to decide.
But that's just my opinion.
I almost forgot to mention that people are denouncing the movie because it didn't display eating disorders the way they experienced it which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Everyone's experience with mental illness is different. They were just trying to display it simplistic enough not to alienate anyone. Trying to be clear. Of course they're not going to get it the way you experienced it.
The movie is great, I suggest you watch it.
