While its name has become synonymous with binge-watch shows, Netflix has also been creating original films, taking on subjects that provoke debate and ask difficult questions.
Biopics, satire, and sci-fi have all hit the headlines by pushing boundaries, but in putting eating disorders at the centre of an emotional story, the streamer created one of its most controversial films. And To The Bone, released in 2017, remains a deeply thought-provoking movie.
As the film opens, young artist Ellen (Lily Collins) is being thrown out of her treatment programme. She simply won’t follow the rules, and her clothes are hanging off her skeletal frame.
She’s been ill for years but as her family now regards her as dead, she goes to stay with her step-family in the hope of finding some peace. Step-mom Susan (Carrie Preston) is the only adult woman in her life, and while she can sometimes be too forceful, her intentions are compassionate and she gets Ellen a place at a treatment unit. Run by a doctor (Keanu Reeves) with an unconventional approach to eating disorders, it uses a mixture of tough love and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Yet she’s more influenced by the other “rexies” (anorexics) around her, especially Luke (Alex Sharp), a ballet dancer, who takes her under his wing.
The movie received mixed reviews, but many highlighted its sense of authenticity, which came straight from the personal experience of the film’s writer and director, Marti Noxon. She uses the language and the dark humour of the young people at the treatment centre to give the film an unexpectedly light touch. Given the subject matter, which is one that’s rarely featured in mainstream movies, it’s refreshing, but it still treats it seriously.
First seen at Sundance at the start of 2017, it sparked a lot of interest, but questions about glamorising the condition rose to the surface and continued when the film arrived on Netflix.
Collins herself received substantial attention and praise for her performance.
She received the script for the film just after writing the chapter in her memoir, "Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me", about her own history with eating disorders and knew that she would have to lose weight for the role. But she accepted it, knowing that she would be supervised by a nutritionist and that it would be a safe environment.
In interviews at the time, she talked about the importance of bringing the condition and her own experiences to public attention.
Aside from the central roles played by Collins and Reeves, one of the most significant characters in the film is Carrie Preston’s Susan, the closest thing Ellen has to a mother figure. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, tries to do her best to help and, indeed, gets it wrong at times, but she’s smart enough to put her step-daughter in the care of a doctor with a different approach.
With more conventional routes having failed, she’ll try anything. That intelligence and intuition is key to Preston’s latest role, one that’s earned her tens of thousands of fans but, as TV’s Elsbeth, she lives in a very different world — that of cops, attorneys and the skyscrapers of New York City.
Audiences have warmed to the adventures of brilliant and unconventional attorney Elsbeth Tascioni, who was originally a recurring character in The Good Wife. After the second season of the show that bears her name averaged 11 million viewers, a third one is currently being filmed and Preston recently gave visitors to her Instagram account a peek behind the scenes.
With its quirky main character, lightly comic tone, and murder of the week format, what has been dubbed the 21st century Columbo will be back on CBS on October 12. A release date for the UK has yet to be confirmed, but autumn is looking more than likely.
The show follows her as she finds her way around the NYPD, standing out from the crowd with her brightly coloured couture and vast collection of tote bags, and using her unique skills to solve cases in the most unusual of ways. For the cops working alongside her, her unorthodox methods are simultaneously frustrating and awe-inspiring. Guest stars have been a regular feature of the show from day one, and it looks like season three will use them to place even more emphasis on comedy, with appearances from the likes of Amy Sedaris and The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert.
Elsbeth could be exactly what we need when the colder weather sets in. Bright colours, gentle comedy and a light-touch mystery every week. What's not to like?
To The Bone is currently on Netflix in the US and the UK.
Seasons one and two of Elsbeth are available on CBS in the US and on Sky Witness in the UK.
