To The Bone addresses a topic that is often overlooked in film; eating disorders, especially anorexia. Your average comedy won't have a side character with an eating disorder as a character trait, and it's hard to think of a well-known film that covers the topic directly. The film takes inspiration from writer-director Marti Noxon's experiences with the disorder, and presents a very simple story about how it can be overcome. It's hard to tell if To The Bone is striving to be the definitive "movie about anorexia" or not, but I'm not sure that it's deserving of that title.
Glamorisation is not something that this film aspires to. Rather, it presents the cold, raw consequences of living with anorexia. The lead character, Ellen (Lily Collins), doesn't just sit in a therapist's office and complain until she reaches an epiphany; she interacts with her complex family, other people dealing with eating disorders, normal social situations, etc. I can't say that I've seen many - or any - films about anorexia in my life, but something about how the story plays out feels very routine. Given how Ellen is established very early on, you know she's going to rebel against the various systems in her life, and reach an answer on her own. She does, but the film ends before we really know what that answer is.
More than anything else, To The Bone feels like a very personal story, and that's its greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness. There's a very clear emotional vision behind the story, but it's the sort of vision that isn't easy for everyone to relate to. The ultimate resolution of the story is delivered in a very artistic manner, which contrasts pretty sharply with the rest of the film up to that point. It doesn't get so abstract that the message becomes muddled, but there's enough dissonance to take you out of the story for a brief moment of confusion, and then the film just kind of stops with a very weak ending.
The film also has many of the staples of your typical indie drama/comedy. You have an eclectic range of characters who say quirky things to each other and have quirky interests, you have the sudden bursts of very dark story beats to reset your emotional expectations and remind you that "this is a serious movie", and obscure songs play over slow-motion scenes of people dancing in the rain. The film is fairly charming throughout, but nothing special. The only stand-out element of To The Bone is Lily Collins' performance, which I would recommend watching the film on alone.
To The Bone is a film that's likely to cause a lot of controversy, and I don't think it's worth it. It's an exceedingly average movie, but maybe I only think that because of my real-life unfamiliarity with eating disorders. I'm sure this film will carry some more personal weight for people who have struggled with anorexia, or have some personal attachment to the disorder, but the film doesn't work as well from an objective viewpoint. And if you're looking for a great performance from Keanu Reeves, you won't find that either. At the end of To The Bone, I didn't feel like I'd really learned anything about anorexia, so this film really has no effect. It has some good moments, but it's nothing to write home about.
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