Bones and All writer reveals big change he made to Timothée Chalamet's character
David Kajganich explained why Chalamet's character Lee enters the story a lot earlier than in the book.
Timothée Chalamet's latest collaboration with director Luca Guadagnino, Bones and All, is now out in cinemas across the UK, bringing Camille DeAngelis 2015 novel of the same name to the screen.
The screenplay was written by Suspiria's David Kajganich, who recently spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com, and admitted that he had to make a major change to the book in the way Chalamet's character Lee enters the story.
Kajganich said: "The love story occupies a sort of a place in the second half of the book. And it occurred to me – this was before we cast the film, so I didn't know who would be playing these roles – but it seemed to me that the story of the film could coalesce more around that love story.
"I think you meet Lee in the book somewhere around page 100. And it's a 300 page book. We meet him earlier in the film, but I also think we live with him more somehow in the film. You know, we have moments with him alone that are very surprising, because it really does seem like Maren is our protagonist."
He continued: "But I think when she pulls him into her circle of love, I think the audience is doing the same thing at the same time. So the deviations Lee takes in this story felt natural in a way that maybe didn't when I was first drafting the script.
"I felt like I was really obliged to be with Maren all the time. But as soon as we understand who she trusts, we can expand it somehow."
The film tells the story of Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Chalamet), two young drifters who fall in love and who both have an unusual craving to eat human flesh.
Guadagnino, the director of the film, recently told RadioTimes.com that despite these horror trappings he didn't see it as a horror film at any point, and instead always saw it as a "love story".
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He said: "This movie came to me and when I read the script I didn't read it as a horror movie, I read it as a beautiful love story between two kids who are disenfranchised and burdened by a kind of nature that they cannot escape somehow.
"That's how I deciphered the book, the script. Yes, they're cannibals and yes, this must come across through the movie with darkness. But I wasn't really thinking in terms of genre."
Bones and All is in UK cinemas now. Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Film hub for more news and features.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
