RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Down to the Bone
Down to the Bone

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Down to the Bone (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
93 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive drug content, language and some sexuality.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 25, 2005 Limited

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

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 7

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue. Or if you don't want to wait, you can click on the "PLAY" button and watch it right now!

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 31, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Down to the Bone

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
11/11/06
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
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)
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
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
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
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
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

... a harrowing character study.

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

[A] small, beautifully faceted gem.

comment Comment
11/28/05
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
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Debra Granik's independent drama "Down to the Bone" builds with a strong, quiet intensity.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
11/28/05
Marcy Dermansky
About.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums for Down to the Bone

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

5 Favorite Films

5 Favorite Films

Director Kathryn Bigelow on Hurt Locker, more

Revisiting Hogwarts

Revisiting Hogwarts

Day 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

RT on Current TV!

RT on Current TV!

Check out the RT Show this Thursday!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
12
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
8
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
54
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
16
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
  • Brandon Routh Talks Superman's Future Source: Moviehole
98
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
66
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
29
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
28
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
24
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
18
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Down to the Bone at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Down to the Bone at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.