ThiefHott Too much of everything

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

cj-5882300 I watched this movie today after hearing an interview with the producer about her new movie Winter's Bones, which I can't wait to see. Down to the Bone started a bit on the choppy side and I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it. About 30 minutes in I was hooked. Vera Farmiga's acting is excellent and the supporting characters were all at least good. Vera has a certain quality that makes it hard to turn your eyes away from her,and interested in everything her character says and does. The soundtrack is great. The movie captured my attention for the last hour or so and as an earlier review said it did not glamorize the very real struggle of trying to recover from drug addiction.

johnnyblaze420-1 I just watched this film the other night and was very impressed with Vera Farmigas performance and the direction of the film. I never heard of the movie, I saw it at Best Buy and just bought it based on Vera Farmiga being in the film. The movie isn't a masterpiece but it is a great film and should be watched, if you are into independent movies or these type of movies. It is a low budget independent film that feels more realistic because of the way it was shot. Highly recommended. Vera Farmiga is definitely one to watch. Look forward to seeing her in other things. If you can find it at a rental store rent it. If not find it for sale and buy it well Worth it. It was only 14.99 at Best Buy.

teddyryan I had the opportunity to see DOWN TO THE BONE off Netflix. I was really looking forward to it. I think Vera Farmiga is a very talented performer and heard the raves. Unfortunately, the decision to shoot this story on a PD-150 really killed it for me. I saw the short SNAKE FEED and felt 16 was a much better medium. Or maybe I wished Debra Granik had taken a different visual DV approach. I'm not quite sure. But I didn't find the cinematography all that breathtaking. Some reviewers call it gritty - I call it bland. Still, even with that aside, I felt the story moves a little slow and is also mettled with structural issues. The snake motif was cliché in my books. Nonetheless, Vera is great and definitely makes this one worth watching.

noralee "Down to the Bone" follows in the tradition of classic addiction and rehab movies (such as "Clean and Sober"), but it doesn't stoop to any clichés. The key to the story's credibility is the director's documentary style, the use of authentic, working class locales in Upstate New York, and terrific acting.Debut director Debra Granik and co-writer Richard Lieske don't follow the typical trajectory of horrific addiction experiences ("Lost Weekend," "Leaving Las Vegas," "Requiem for a Dream," etc.), though there's some frightening close calls, but quietly build an accretion of how a drug habit affects a mother and her family in her daily life as a cashier and living in a house her ne'er do well husband never finishes renovating. With no explication or back story, "Irene"s life plays out for us completely through what we see in grainy digital video and the characters' inarticulate interactions. Rehab is only the half-way point in a continuing struggle (and we have seen the 12-steps many times but perhaps not this drearily matter-of-factly) and the film is brilliant at demonstrating just how difficult it is to quit when everywhere there are not only triggers for physical need but how those around her benefited in some way from her behavior when she was high and keep encouraging her to indulge. Lapsing is cynically referred to as "the 13th step." None of these insights are hammered home redundantly as we see her frustrations and resiliency. I've noted Vera Farmiga in various TV series, but here she reveals guts, strength and range below her fragile beauty as she very believably, step by step, gives "Irene" backbone. Her chemistry with a seductively magnetic Hugh Dillon is terrific as their relationship goes from attraction to risk to independence.Though at one point New York City is a bit tritely used as a tempting source for drugs, the primary settings in snowy Kingston and Ulster County, with its downscale stores, weatherbeaten houses, high unemployment and desolate highway scapes set the characters in a very believable, multi-racial setting.There is a bit of heavy-handed symbolism with a pet snake, but the young children are terrifically natural, especially in their whiney-ness and physical reactions.The soundtrack unobtrusively includes an interesting selection of indie rock, including by Dillon's band.