Pssst, want to check out Bone in our new look?
Information
- A.k.a.
- Dial Rat
- Year
- 1972
- Runtime
- 95 min.
- Director
- Larry Cohen
- Genre
- Comedy
- Rating *
- 7.1
- Votes *
- 532
- Checks
- 106
- Favs
- 11
- Dislikes
- 1
- Favs/checks
- 10.4% (1:10)
- Favs/dislikes
- 11:1
Top comments
-
Siskoid
Already, in writer-director Larry Cohen's first film Bone, he shows incredible originality, elevating what should be exploitative schlock to a whole other level. The character of Bone is a presumptive thief/rapist/killer played by the always entertaining Yaphet Kotto, in a home invasion scenario that sends a rich git (Andrew Duggan) out to empty his bank account while his wife (Joyce Van Patten) stays behind and under threat. That works as a thriller no matter what. But Cohen is actually subverting expectations by making it a satire too. The rich couple are the real monsters, and Bone struggles with his role in the drama, playing off what's expected of a black man, in terms of both the racist culture and the civil rights movement. While it seems impossible to make a would-be rapist sympathetic, there's a very big question as to whether Bone is one, or just expected to be one. The theme is similarly addressed in Duggan's encounter with an anarchic chick on his trip, though the connections aren't immediately obvious. Cohen is inventive throughout, giving his scenes a lot of texture, editing in flashes of memory and imagination that deepen the characters (but not Bone, who remains unknowable except through Kotto's intriguing performance), and playing around with metaphors. Viciously funny and darkly thought-provoking. 1 year 3 months ago