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To the Bone is a Netflix original movie that explores the topic of eating disorders, Anorexia in specific. The movie doesn’t just touch upon or feature the topic, but it rather delves deep into it and thrusts the audience right into the story of what it’s like to have Anorexia.

While there are many things to critique, this is not what we’re here for. We think this movie is interesting and important because eating disorders are rarely talked about here in Egypt. The movie star, Lily Collins, lost a bunch of weight to play this role, and while some might think this is problematic and might’ve been a trigger, it’s the actor protocol that they shapeshift to fit into whatever role they’re playing.

To the Bone revolves around the life of Ellen, played by Lily Collins, who has been struggling with Anorexia for the bigger chunk of her life. She could guess the calories of any type of food without much effort. Ellen then went to rehab, where she met patients with the same disorder who try and help her, as well as each other, to get better. The movie then shifts its focus momentarily on the lives of the people she met and links them together.

We figured it was a good idea to discuss such a topic, no matter how serious it is, now because there will never be a good time to talk about something serious. We understand the irony of it coming up during the holidays, however, there are plenty of people struggling with this disorder and this article might help raise a bit of awareness on the topic. It’s also important to touch upon it now since the holidays are a time that mostly involves food.

An eating disorder is defined as an obsession with food that leads to unhealthy eating habits. Some of these obsessions might be about food, or one’s own body or weight, or both. Eating disorders manifest in different forms, one of which is Anorexia. Anorexia involves people constantly monitoring their weight, which is already under normal, and eating just the minimum amount to keep them going for the day; barely eating anything. They constantly count their calories and how much they’ve eaten and obsess over what goes in their bodies. The movie portrays Anorexia in an excellent way, but at the end of the day, this is only an inkling of what Anorexia is.