Skeletons in the Closet

One evening this past weekend I watched the indie movie “To the Bone” (2017) which deals with the topic of eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa—with the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. People waste away, become skeletal like concentration camp victims, and literally starve themselves to death. Unless, that is, they are fortunate enough to be able to access effective and compassionate health care and recover from this devastating illness. As does the 20-year old lead character in “To the Bon,” Ellen, as well as the actress, Lily Collins, who plays her in the movie—and as does the writer/producer of the movie, Marti Noxon. Both Collins and Noxon have struggled with anorexia and Noxon based the screenplay on her own experience.

I had read about some of the controversy surrounding this film, including critique that it glorifies thinness and eating disorders in general, as well as that it can tigger viewers into a recurrence or worsening of their own anorexia. Although I am not in favor of the over-use of trigger warnings, I did feel that the brief written warning at the beginning of the movie was tasteful and appropriate. As I remember, it stated something like “The following movie includes content that some viewers may find difficult to watch.”

Having lived through anorexia as a teenager, and having provided primary health care to many young people struggling with eating disorders (and across the socio-economic spectrum), I can say that “To the Bone” is an honest, nuanced, and not overly-sensationalized depiction of the lived experience of eating disorders. The movie does not glamorize thinness or eating disorders. It appropriately alludes to the linkage between eating disorders and childhood trauma, including sexual abuse. The supposedly unconventional heroic physician in the film, Dr. William Beckham, played by Keanu Reeves, is borderline obnoxious in that Robin Williams ah-shucks smiley face sort of way. And the group home eating disorder treatment center where the main character Ellen goes in a last-ditch effort to find a cure, is a gorgeous and expensive-looking setting. It helps that Ellen’s elusive father (he never appears in the movie even for a family therapy session) is portrayed as having a well-paying job in order to pay for that group home inpatient therapy. Even patients with relatively comprehensive health insurance often have difficulty accessing such treatment for eating disorders.

My assessment is that “To the Bone” is a good and honest film about an important mental health issue, and it is written/produced by a woman and features mostly women in the leading roles (luckily, Reeves has relatively little screen time). I can see this film being used effectively in nursing and other health professions educational programs for many years to come.

• A good resource for more information on eating disorders (including a toll-free, confidential help-line) is the National Eating Disorders Association.
• And about that actual skeleton in the closet included in this post… It is a human (not plastic) skeleton enclosed in its own wooden closet on wheels and is located in the University of Washington School of Nursing’s new simulation/learning lab. I took her photograph last week and am currently trying to discover anything more about who she was.