Bone
by Larry Cohen
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DVD details
Actor: Andrew Duggan, Casey King, Jeannie Berlin, Joyce Van Patten, Yaphet KottoDirector: Larry Cohen
Brand: WEA DES Moines Video
Cinematographer: George Folsey Jr.
Editor: George Folsey Jr.
Producer: Larry Cohen
Writer: Larry Cohen
Producer: Janelle Webb
Producer: Peter Sabiston
Producer: Peter Vizer
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 581003
Studio: Blue Underground
DVD Reviews of Bone
DVD Review: Not Cohen's best work
Summary: 3 Stars
There is something about a Larry Cohen film that requires me to watch them on a fairly regular basis (read: whenever a new one comes out on DVD). It isn't my unnaturally slavish devotion to all things horror that finds me looking forward to the latest Cohen madness, although many of this director's films definitely fall with the horror genre. Movies like "The Stuff," "It's Alive," and "Q-The Winged Serpent" are without a doubt horror, the last one being a homage to classic monster films of the 1950s. Then you get something like "God Told Me To," a film that feels like horror but then turns into a strange hybrid of over the top science fiction and religious quackery. "Bone" stands apart from all of the other Larry Cohen films I have seen. It's not horror although there are a few scares thrown around, and it isn't science fiction either. What we have here is a biting social satire about race relations in America during the early 1970s. Blue Underground resurrected this obscurity from god knows where, threw a bunch of extras on the disc, and tossed the results into a country where race still plays a central role in society.
Bill (Andrew Duggan) and his wife Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten) enjoy a life of privilege and comfort. They own a nice big house, a large plot of land, an in ground swimming pool, and nice cars. Considering their wealth, they don't seem like a happy couple. As the film begins we see both of them lounging around the pool engaged in a pointed exchange. Before we can assimilate exactly what, if anything, is going on a black man named Bone (Yaphet Kotto) strolls into the backyard. He pulls a dead rat out of the pool's filter (?) and then begins to pester Bill for a job. Both Bill and his wife are quite nervous about having this man so close to their house, and it shows in their speech and body language. Bone certainly recognizes their discomfort and quickly takes advantage of it. He shakes Bill's hand and then refuses to let go, demanding that the couple give him money or he will start hurting them. With Bone still clenching Bill's hand, the three go into the house to look for cash. Amazingly, the intruder cannot find any valuables in any room in the house. He orders Bill to go to the bank, withdraw several thousand dollars, and return in an hour. If he doesn't, Bone says with a smile, he will brutalize Bernadette any way he sees fit. Bill drives off.
But something happens once Bill gets into town. He has trouble finding a parking space, walks into the bank but suddenly decides to leave without the money, and then wonders around as though in a trance. Is Bernadette's husband going to let her come to harm? It certainly seems so. Bill continues in his malaise, bumping into a kooky lady ranting and raving about X-rays, spending time with an odd young girl (Jeannie Berlin), and generally doing anything he can to avoid going back home. Meanwhile, tensions rise between Bone and Bernadette as the two realize Bill most likely isn't coming back (If only they had cell phones in the 1970s!). Bill's wife nervously tries to placate this lout, but his increasing nervousness and hostility reach dangerous levels quite quickly. His irrational behavior, exhibited by insisting that Bernadette cook eggs for him in a particular way, drives the woman to the point of hysteria. Finally, Bone attempts to have his way with Bill's wife only to collapse in futility when she refuses to resist his advances. A strange bond forms between the two over this incident as well as Bone's subsequent revelations about his troubled life. Bill, Bernadette, and Bone will meet again in town, but with a significant change in their previous social roles. The conclusion leaves you scratching your head in bewilderment.
"Bone" is a talky, sometimes absurdist picture that won't appeal to many of Cohen's horror fans. Just like many films released in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the movie is subversive and contemptuous of the upper class. On the surface, Bill and Bernadette seem to possess every element of the American dream, but as events unfold we see the rot spreading behind the gloss. The couple's son, for instance, is serving time in a foreign prison for attempted drug smuggling, yet his parents told everyone they know that he's serving a stint in the military. Bill's indifference to his wife's predicament at home hints strongly at his dissatisfaction with his life and his marriage. Bernadette presents the strongest example that a life of leisure and wealth isn't a great way to live after all. Her strong empathy, soon bordering on obsession, with Bone gives us the distinct impression that she's your typical bored housewife looking for independence and excitement. The conclusion, which I won't spoil for you with particulars, leaves much to the imagination. We aren't sure what happened, and we definitely aren't sure which of the principal characters imagined the proceeding events. Or did it really happen?
Overall, I thought "Bone" a lesser Cohen film because it doesn't offer anything original. Lots of films before this one, and billions more since, recycle the same old tired themes. If being wealthy and comfortable is such a horrendous life, why is it that everyone (including those in Hollywood) wants to strike it rich? It's this sort of hypocrisy that prevents me from taking movies like this seriously. However, the performances were quite good, especially Joyce Van Patten. Her 180-degree turn in the course of the movie is convincing and sort of chilling at the same time. Yaphet Kotto, of course, always does a magnificent job in any role he chooses to undertake. Cohen fans will want to see "Bone," but others might think it too obscure and weird.
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Description of Bone
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