The main character is a young girl named Maren Yearly, played by Taylor Russell. After being invited to a slumber party, suddenly and unexpectedly biting off the finger of one of the other girls, she and her father flee head over heels, and soon after, he abandons her realizing he can no longer keep her cannibalistic impulses in check. Lost and lonely, the 18-year-old girl decides to track down her mother, Janelle, meeting other "eaters" along the way, first the older creepy Sully (Mark Rylance) and then the young charismatic Lee (Timothee Chalamet), the latter becoming her boyfriend, and the former stalking her all the way through the couple's bloody odyssey until... well, of course, I won't reveal that.

Despite her cannibalism Maren is in many ways a sympathetic and moral character disgusted by other "eaters" enjoying their vice, and despairing when Lee kills and eats a family man. Cursed with an inhuman urge yet trying to be sane, Russell plays the role brilliantly. Chalamet is also good, and there's great chemistry between him and Russell, but the best performance is by far delivered by Mark Rylance, infusing the human predator Sully, who could have been utterly cold and joyless, with humor and personality, making the creepy man-eater seem uncomfortably real. There's a potential Oscar nomination here.

The movie reminded me of Cronenberg's "Crash", another movie about people trapped in a destructive subculture. Luca Guadagnino, who gave us "Call Me by Your Name" and "Suspiria", has made a masterpiece that hits your heart. It certainly made a huge impression on me.