Background

“To the bone” stars Lily Collins as Ellen, a 20-year-old woman with anorexia nervosa, who despite her difficult family life and disorder tries to stay alive. With the help of Dr. Beckham, played by Keanu Reeves, she undergoes an unconventional treatment in a group home where she meets interesting friends and changes little by little her perspective on life.  

The film was written and directed by Marti Noxon, producer of Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee and many other projects. It appeared first in the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017, but was later bought for 8 million dollars by Netflix, who then published it worldwide. 
The script is inspired on the life of the director of the movie. Marti Noxon spent many of her teenage years in and out of hospitals, fighting her eating disorder. She describes it as an addiction and a method she used to escape and cope with negative feelings. Noxon wrote this honest and moving story to reflect her own experiences with mental health, portraying her former doctor and his very special method. This way, she addresses the issue of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia in teenagers showing that they come in all shapes and sizes. In the first movie she directed, Noxon makes an attempt to transmit to its audience the message “don’t fade away”, to raise awareness about these not-so-uncommon issues. 

To portray this difficult, yet interesting topic, the leading actress Lily Collins and Marti Noxon had to make an extensive research to stay truthful, insightful and empathetic along the story. Both spent a long time before shooting attending Anorexics Anonymous meetings and getting frequent consultation from the nonprofit organization “Project Heal”. Because both women had lived themselves through the daily struggles of an eating disorder in their pasts, they were very aware of the fact, that this issue needs to stop being a taboo and urgently needs to be addressed and discussed between old and young audiences. 
Lilly also worked really hard to create her character, to show the real essence and state of mind of an anorexic patient. She undertook an intense journey with a professional nutritionist to carefully lose weight for her role, without damaging her health very much. In one interview, she opened up about her past struggles and directed towards audiences living through similar issues. “Seeking help is never a sign of weakness, it’s a strength, regardless of what it is you want help with,” said the actress. “You’re not alone in your struggles, and sometimes the things you feel most alone in are actually the most universal, and it takes talking about them to realize that.”  

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