Down to the Bone

Name: Down to the Bone
Genre: Drama
Released: November 25, 2005
Duration: 104 min
Rating: 76

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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6.2

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6.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Down To The Bone

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Movie Details & Credits

Laemmle/Zeller Films | Release Date: November 25, 2005 | R

Summary: 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. There, she meetsIrene (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. 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 Productions]… Expand

Director: Debra Granik

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 104 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Owen Gleiberman

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

100

G. Allen Johnson

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. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

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. Read full review

Peter Travers

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

Pete Vonder Haar

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

Kirk Honeycutt

This is a performance without the histrionics and emotional outbursts that accompany most portrayals of addiction. This feels closer to the truth. Read full review

Jami Bernard

Farmiga is excellent as a woman who is like the mouse she feeds to her son's pet snake - trapped and about to be eaten alive by ordinary circumstance. Read full review

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User Reviews

ChristopherH.

Dec 2, 2005

I caught this one last night and was completely blown away by this film. There was so much verisimilitude I thought I was watching a documentary. This film nails it, addiction, blue collar people, small time life. A real sleeper.

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PeteL.

Nov 30, 2005

Excellent film that shows a glimpse of the reality of drug addiction and the torture that usually accompanies it.

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ChadS.

Nov 4, 2006

"Down to the Bone" differs slightly from other films in how it depicts the drug-addled junkie. Irene (Vera Farmiga) is hooked, but she's functional. She has a job and her children are remarkably well-adjusted. In movies like "Down to the Bone", you sort of know the drill; the addict "Down to the Bone" differs slightly from other films in how it depicts the drug-addled junkie. Irene (Vera Farmiga) is hooked, but she's functional. She has a job and her children are remarkably well-adjusted. In movies like "Down to the Bone", you sort of know the drill; the addict hits rock bottom and then he/she enters rehab. But this film is more nuanced, less sensationalistic about addiction. Vera never pulls a Uncle Ned ("I hit Alex!"), or makes a spectacle of herself in a public arena. Entering rehab isn't how this film climaxes. "Down to the Bone" is about an addict who's in and out of twelve-step programs, which means we have to watch Vera in encounter groups and other drug recovery-related activities, not one time, but twice. Dramatically, that's a problem.… Expand

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RobertB.

Apr 16, 2007

Not much new from this entry into the druggie genre. Slow and lacking in revelation, though you do get the sqeamish feeling of watching people trash their lives.

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