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To The Bone



To The Bone - in which a young woman struggles with an eating disorder and a pain-in-the-ass family situation, kinda of simultaneously and separately. There is a disclaimer at the beginning, like a trigger warning, and it reveals that a lot of the film crew had personal eating disorder experience, and it really shows throughout. So, this chick named Ellen is doing a bunch of classic anorexia behaviors, like not eating, smoking and drinking, and secretly working out. Also, she keeps getting kicked out of ED treatment centers because she is kind of a dick. So, the movie centers around her trying to negotiate her absent father, cares too much step-mother, her hippie mom who gave up on her, and her mom's wife, technically other step-mom, I think, who is kind of a bitch. She also has an awesome (step) sister, who is younger, and tries to look up to Ellen, but its hard because she's such a fuck up.
    So, they find a sought-after doctor in LA, where they live, and its Keanu Reeves! And he evaluates Ellen, and says he will only treat her if she goes into inpatient at his facility. She does not want to, but kind of doesn't have any choice, because her family doesn't know what else to do with her. The house has a usual line up of weirdos, and there is a guy who is in treatment, he was a ballet dancer. The house mother is Retta, who is the best nurse these nerds could ask for. Its a character study, and the rules of the house are unconventional, they are allowed to eat whatever they want, but there are no doors, because ED patients are literally as bad as drug addicts and cannot be trusted. There is a pregnant 29 year old, another 2 white chicks in their late teens-early 20's, a 13 year old, and a fat 17 year old. Ellen and the guy really hit it off, and he takes her out to dinner, because he's up to eating in his recovery. They are kind of a couple, and the other girls at the house are jealous, but not too much. Ellen's family comes in for group therapy, but her dad can't show up, and her moms just bicker and Keanu says, lets not do this again. The climax of the movie is that Ellen runs away from treatment, she keeps losing weight, and Keanu says to her step-mom, "Let Ellen hit a real bottom." So, she runs away to her mom's house in Phoenix, where her mom says, "I guess I can't stop you, if you really want to die, and I accept your suicide." Its horrifying. So, when no one is left to save her, Ellen figures out she has to save herself, and she eats. She lets her mom feed her, actually. She goes back to the rehab house, and actually eats. And thinks she can probably live. I hope I am accurately describing how good this movie is.

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