This week on Esobel’s episode of Netflix and Quill, I chose to watch a netflix original. The movie that I watched went by the name of To the Bone. The casting for this movie must have been extremely difficult and the consideration in searching for the perfect main character, Ellen, took excessive work. The actor that plays Ellen is Lily Collins. Lily actually had to become anorexic in order to cast for this character. It is so wild to see the real effects of anorexia and bulimia in an actress that many people look up to.
I really love one of the first scenes of this movie where Ellen and her stepmother Susan are in the bedroom together talking about Ellen’s eating disorder, and I love how the film producer shoots this scene. They both only have their undergarments on, and something about this scene is so touching and definitely brings out the light of what this whole movies purpose is. Following this scene there is a scene where Ellen and her step sister Kelly are sitting at the top of a hill and overlooking the city. The way that this was shot captured my eyes because it was night time in the shot, and all the city lights were shining in the backdrop and all the viewers could see was the back of Ellen and Kelly’s heads. The music was slow and showed a very intimate moment between two sisters ( this is where Kelly brings up Ellen’s disorder and begs her to get help). There are many beautiful scenes that stick out to me, but the one that sticks out the most is when Dr. Beckham, a unique kind of Doctor works with Ellen to better herself, and takes all his patients to an art exhibit. The video footage caught in this sense is by far the best part of the whole movie. The art exhibit is some sort of waterfall exhibit, and in order to get the the exhibit the patients have to go through this dark room/ hallway and they relate it back to those the Jews must have felt in the Holocaust. Anyways, so once the patients get to the black room with water falling from the ceiling, there is only a hint of light coming from the ceiling. As each patient crosses over through the “waterfall”, the light shines on their faces in such a beautiful and uplifting way. This type of view is something that you just have to go see on screen.
I would definitely recommend To the Bone if you have been through a rough time with body image issues, and/ or you know someone who has been through things such as body image issue before. Mental and physical disorders are no joke, and as sad as it may be, no one wants to talk about them, and these types of issues are just swept under the rug. It is now our time, and we need to bring these situations to light again and start teaching people that It is 101% okay to not be okay.
I can see how the use of cameras, especially in a movie about bulimia and anorexia. I would definitely want to look into how the camera might compare her body to someone else's and see how to angles effect to how you perceive her body. It's interesting how much you mentioned light playing a part in the movie. It seems like the director went through a lot of effort to make the light important. From using a transition from darkness to light in the tunnel as well as the parallel of her transition from a darkness (where she has an eating disorder) to when she is trying to get better. I think you've done a great job of looking into the camera's effect on your perception, but would like to see more parallels and comparisons between the angles and their effect on your perception of the characters and their individual developments. My favorite part of your post is probably your final paragraph though. Your final paragraph is something that I would re-tweet 1000x if this weren't Blogspot and is something that should be said as often as possible. It's okay to not be okay.
ReplyDeleteI just watched this film, and I think I need to make a quick correction to this post. While Lily Collins did in fact lose weight for this role, she did so with the supervision and guidance of a nutritionist. She did not become anorexic to play this part. She does say that the writer and herself have dealt with eating disorders in the past (along with many of the other members working on this production as the film's opening disclaimer says), but this movie was about being honest and tackling this challenging concept--not perpetuating it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after seeing the film, I couldn't agree more with what you said about the power of the art exhibit "indoor rain" scene. The lighting shining through the rain is truly beautiful but even more so are all the individuals, who are dealing with their illnesses, stepping into the rain with almost a new sense of freedom. Consider Luke stepping into the rain and immediately begins dancing. Luke is always one for dreaming big and singing musicals, so what better way of representing that than having a scene that almost cries out "Singing in the Rain?" Heck, he even has the Fedora. Gene Kelly would be proud.
Now, while I have a feeling the writers of this show were connecting this scene to "the Holocaust" due to the joke made by Megan at the dinner table of the home and how the individuals were being led down a dark tunnel to an unknown destination, it is an interesting parallel to make to the shower they are about to experience (versus the historical reference to the showers in concentration camps).
Personally, I think if it was an intentional thing, it was the wrong decision to make. Sure, this film is one that breaks down those taboo boundaries for political correctness, but by layering the beautiful visuals of the art exhibit scene with an undertone of horror and tragedy, I think it takes away from the hope of the moment. While I understood the placement of the Holocaust joke at the table and how it connects to the experience of these characters, I think it should have ended there and other dialogue could have been used to introduce us to the art exhibit scene.