Down to the Bone (2004)

A woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.

Director:

Debra Granik

Writers:

Jean-Michel Dissard (additional writer), Debra Granik

Stars:

Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan

7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vera Farmiga	...	Irene
Hugh Dillon	...	Bob
Clint Jordan	...	Steve
Caridad 'La Bruja' De La Luz	...	Lucy (as Caridad De La Luz)
Jasper Daniels	...	Ben (as Jasper Moon Daniels)
Taylor Foxhall	...	Jason
Giles Penderghast	...	Pet Store Clerk
Terry McKenna	...	Gene
Richard Lieske	...	Richard
Hector Vasquez	...	Hector
Joel Saeks	...	Lars
Lori Berryman	...	Acupuncture Therapist
Walt Bolde	...	Walt
Edward Crawford	...	Kevin
Gia Mitchell	...	April

Storyline

Winter in hard-scrabble upstate New York. Irene is working class, a mother of two boys, and a user of cocaine. She gets into trouble and checks into a rehab program where she meets Bob, a nurse. After she goes home to her husband and returns to her job as a grocery checker, she stays in touch with Bob and the intimations of an affair begin. By now, she's changed jobs, cleaning houses with her friend Lucy. The temptations of drugs are close at hand. Can she handle sobriety? What about Bob?

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Plot Keywords:

upstate new york | nurse | friend | check | cocaine | 

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Taglines:

Old Habits Die Hard

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive drug content, language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 2005 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Az do kosci

Filming Locations:

Bearsville, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,352, 27 November 2005

Gross USA:

$30,241

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,241

Company Credits

Production Co:

Down to the Bone Productions, Susie Q Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Extension of Sundance Film Festival Award Winning Short SNAKEFEED.

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Goofs

Anytime the aquarium and snake are shown with the actors, it has wood chips in it. Whenever the snake is fed, it only has newspapers and rocks in it.

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Connections

Remake of Snake Feed (1997)

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Soundtracks

The Chase
Written and Performed by Hall Of Fame
Courtesy of Hall Of Fame

User Reviews

A powerful cocktail - both dry and sweet

This movie telegraphs its tone in the first minute -- as others have pointed out, it's not exactly breezy. But it is well worth making the commitment to watch.

Farmiga's performance has integrity and guts, especially when she's interacting with the kids, but all her interactions with the secondary characters have a compelling spark of reality to them. She uses her whole body to say a line, the way real people sometimes do, especially when under stress. As in her other works, she commands every scene she's in. It's nice to see her own an entire film.

I felt the same subversive sweetness under the surface that many classic, superbly observed films seem to share, along with an astringently dry humor and personality, while remaining almost unrelentingly bleak on the surface. I found the final ten seconds particularly satisfying.