Down to the Bone
Down to the Bone Image
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Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Irene (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

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    100
    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.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    80
    Quietly devastating.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    75
    Writer-director Debra Granik has found a star, and wisely builds every scene around Farmiga's character.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    If there were an ounce of taste left in Hollywood, the magnificent Vera Farmiga would be a front-runner for the Best Actress Oscar.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. ChristopherH.
    10
    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.… Expand
  2. PeteL.
    10
    Excellent film that shows a glimpse of the reality of drug addiction and the torture that usually accompanies it.
  3. ChadS.
    7
    "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
  4. RobertB.
    3
    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.… Expand

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