“The Lovely Bones” is based on the novel by Alice Sebold and directed by Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings"). The movie is dramatically narrated by Susie (Saoirse Ronan) as we travel through parts of her brief past, rush through her present, and then slowly watch her family’s and murderer’s future unfold.
Susie confesses that she wants her murderer (Stanley Tucci) “cold and dead” because of what he did to her. Her father Jack (Mark Walberg) and sister Lindsey (Rose Mclver) become unhealthily obsessed with finding the killer, however her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz) withdraws from the household after she yells at her husband, “Can’t you just leave it alone!” Of all of them, Susie’s brother Buckley (Christian Thomas Ashdale) is calmed by the understanding that “Susie is in the inbetween”, watching over them.
While stuck in the “inbetween” Susie is torn between her craving for vengeance and her desire to move on to heaven. However, it is the haunting that pushes her to side with vengeance. As Susie watches in the blue horizon, she sees her father and sister piece together clues that could lead them to her murder.
While sitting in the theater or at home, "The Lovely Bones" will make your heart race (even though you know what's going to happen). The light background music or normal noises set the scenes for anticipated suspense and quiet contemplation of relationships and the afterlife.
The acting is satisfactory overall, but particular actors stand out as above average. Saorise Ronan (Suzie) of course does an excellent job of playing the dead girl. Her far away, yet passionate voice guides the plot along. Mark Walberg (Suzie's father) is exceptional with displaying a variety of dramatic emotions, such as the grief and anger he feels. Finally, Stanley Tucci (the murderous neighbor) is fantastic. How he can be so creepy and insane yet appear completely normal in different circumstances is quite the achievement in the acting department.
The movie plot is similar to the novel plot, however some details were more craftily hinted at and not immediately obvious. In the summary from Wikipedia, it states that Suzi was not only murdered, but raped as well. Later in the movie, it shows that Suzie can't quite move on until she makes one last connection with the boy she liked. The movie barely implies this, but like in the novel, they end up making love, which enables Suzie to finally move on.
Unlike the novel, the movie also doesn't develop some of the more interesting relationships Suzie has in the book (like with her best friend, they boy she likes, or the "lonely creepy" girl that can connect with the dead. Having read about these relationships, I'm disappointed the movie couldn't weave those in. On the bright side of the tragedy, the movie does an excellent job of portraying the strain a death in the family causes on the family unit itself, as well as friends of members of the family.
While “The Lovely Bones” is not as action packed as "Lord of the Rings", it is a thrilling film that is full of strong emotions. The ending is at least satisfactory, while the plot is spattered with instances that will make your heart jump or break.This movie gets four stars out of five.
Movie Details (At a Glance):
- Rated PG-13
- Length: 2 hr 15 min
- Genre: Alternative Thriller
- Showing in Corvallis and Albany
