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Movies / On DVD / Down to the Bone
Down to the Bone

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Down to the Bone (2004)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:28

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: A vivid portrayal of the effects of drug abuse that avoids cinematic clichés, Down to the Bone is a winning effort by first-time director Debra Granik and features a breakout performance by Vera Farmiga.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Last year's Sundance Film Festival honored DOWN TO THE BONE with two high-profile, prestigious and extremely competitive awards: Best Director and A Special Jury Prize for acting. A stellar entry... Last year's Sundance Film Festival honored DOWN TO THE BONE with two high-profile, prestigious and extremely competitive awards: Best Director and A Special Jury Prize for acting. A stellar entry in the Dramatic Competition, writer/director Debra Granik, in her feature film debut, and actress Vera Farmiga became the talk of the Festival and the indie film community. In DOWN TO THE BONE, Irene (Vera Farmiga) is a working class mother living in upstate New York. She struggles to keep her marriage together and raise two sons while keeping her cocaine addiction a secret. After a series of nearly fatal mishaps, and finally hoping to make a change in her life, she decides to check herself into a rehab center. She knows kicking the habit would be tough, but the experience proves even more difficult than she could have anticipated. There, she meets and falls in love with a fellow reformed addict (Hugh Dillon). When one of them falls into a relapse with the addiction, their commitment to staying clean - and to each other - shatters. This beautifully wrought film accurately and authentically explores the wrenching road of recovery without ever resorting to histrionics. DOWN TO THE BONE is based upon Debra Granik's 1997 short film, "Snake Feed," which won the Sundance Film Festival's Short Filmmaking Award in 1998. --© Laemmle/Zeller Films [More]

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan, Caridad De La Luz

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan, Caridad De La Luz

Director: Debra Granik

Director: Debra Granik
Producer: Susan Leber

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Reviews for Down to the Bone

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/22/04
Andrew Pulver
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
11/11/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/28/06
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The movie seems to be about drug addiction and recovery, but it gradually shifts, becoming a look from an unusual angle at what a big job it is to be a parent and the priorities it requires.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
03/16/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

This downbeat story of blue-collar drug abuse becomes a moving portrait of people battling their inner demons, thanks to an outstanding acting ensemble.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
03/16/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Farmiga effectively shows the fear, need and hope at war within Irene, how the false high of being clean for a week can fade when she realizes the second week isn't going to be any easier.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
03/09/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Strong performances from Vera Farmiga and Hugh Dillon keep things from becoming overdramatic.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/09/06
Pete Vonder Haar
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

If there were an ounce of taste left in Hollywood, the magnificent Vera Farmiga would be a front-runner for the Best Actress Oscar.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
01/06/06
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

The film is so pitch perfect and realistic, it seems you are there with these people, watching their lives unfold before you as it happens.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
12/16/05
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle

if you've ever wondered why people in 12-step programs aren't supposed to sleep together right off the bat, well, this movie is about to show you, in detail.

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
12/15/05
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/06/05
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Complex and full of paradoxes, the drug addicts go through rehab and yearn for redemption, but their experiences are not tidy and there's no sweeping resolution or neat conclusion.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/02/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

This marks [Farmiga's] arrival as One to Watch. See her here, and you can say you remember the early days.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/02/05
E! Online

Down to the Bone achieves what only the best independent films have: making life, at its most unvarnished, a journey.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
11/30/05
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Conventional movies, even independent ones, tend to get histrionic and judgmental about such drug-related setbacks. But Granik's film, though hardly a clinical case study, keeps a measured distance from the heavy-handed or simplistic.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
11/28/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

... a harrowing character study.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/28/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

[A] small, beautifully faceted gem.

comment Comment
11/28/05
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

... a stark, realistic portrait of a working-class mother in New York's depressed Ulster County as she tries to battle a drug habit.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/28/05
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

Down to the Bone emerges with an aura of authenticity so strong as to be mesmerizing, thanks to a superior script brought to life with infallibly natural performances ...

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/28/05
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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