The Lovely Bones

The last time I went to the movie theater was to see Sherlock Holmes drastically disappoint my expectations. The last time I saw a movie was when I bought The Ugly Truth on pay-per-view, which led me to mercilessly trash it on my review. It seemed as if though film was failing me recently.

Thank you, Peter Jackson.

Peter Jackson was the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is also known for directing the 2005 remake of King Kong. He produced the critically acclaimed District 9. His latest big-screen project is The Lovely Bones.

The Lovely Bones follows Susie Salmon, after her murder, as she looks down on her family and murderer from the In-Between, a sort of limbo state of mind place, the horizon between heaven and Earth. It is based on the 2002 novel by Alice Sebold. The book received critical acclaim, but not the same for the movie.

It is odd that the studio said they wanted to hire a fairly unknown cast, because, then again, it stars Mark Wahlberg, a former rapper, as Susie's determined father; Rachel Weisz, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress, as Susie's depressed and unfaithful mother; Stanley Tucci, who has played Julia Child's husband and an editor at a fashion magazine, as Mr. Harvey, Susie's killer; Susan Sarandon, another Academy Award winning actress, as Grandma Lynn; and Academy Award nominated Saoirse Ronan as Susie. I would have thought they were aiming at an all-star cast!

One of the highlights of this movie is definitely the acting. Stanley Tucci is just phenomenal as this serial killer middle aged neighbor, and he really managed to make my skin crawl every time he came on screen. They disguised him so well that when he was sitting in a bloody bathtub I had to remind myself this had been the jolly old French food eating husband this past summer in Julie&Julia. It really surprised me how terrifying he could act, given that he hadn't been given such antagonistic roles before.

After watching the movie, it is difficult picturing anyone playing Susie besides Saoirse Ronan. She just has these really innocent blue eyes, and can play such a complex character. Susan Sarandon plays Grandma Lynn, who with a cigarette on one hand a cocktail on the other provides the much needed comic relief.

My only issue with the acting was Mark Walhberg . Mark Walhberg just wasn't right for this role as the loving and sad father, probably because he is just too used to playing Mr. Tough Guy, and probably tried too hard to demonstrate his acting range. His role was supposed to be 'the father who loved his daughter so so much' but it just came off as this troubled man who has anger issues.

Another down side is the subplot of Susie and her romance with her crush, Ray. There was a scene with them nearing the end of the movie that was so irrelevant I just wanted someone to go in there and say "Get a room or leave already before the bad guy wins!" It could have so easily been eliminated, because it wasn't as if though it was comic relief or anything, it was just there for the sake of making the movie long.

But there are many more up sides than down sides. The plot line was so beautifully told, and there was this perfect balance between this sort of dream world and reality, which for me, blended just enough to make the two connect well. The CGI (the special effects) was just amazing, and in my opinion it was not overwhelming at all, because I think it was necessary both to show Susie's imagination and to provide some relief to the plot's inevitable dark sequences. 

The scenes in the real world were also pretty damn good. The many time period lapses gave the film a sort of genuine feel, especially when it showed the characters just doing everyday things, that not only showed they were supposed to be normal people, but also found a way to connect to the main plot line. For example, I thought it was pretty smart when they showed Mr. Harvey sketching his little clubhouse/dungeon, because it showed how it was a process, and how he didn't just decide to go out one night and make a chamber under the cornfield, and showed how Peter Jackson wasn't hurried to tell the story, but he wanted to make it detailed and well told in a way that wasn't tedious, something that I thought he failed to do with King Kong, but improved in this movie. He also knew what to put and what not to in the film. Like when Susie is murdered, he doesn't actually show you how Mr. Harvey did it, but you still get the general idea of what happened in there without making it gruesome to watch. I mean even when you see the other dozen victims of Mr. Harvey laying disfigured in a chicken coop or sinking slowly in a lake, he doesn't over do it, and it doesn't make you want to cover your eyes. I was really happy with the resolution, but then again, that is my opinion, because it gave you the sense of justice that wasn't so by the book.

All in all, this movie was much better than I thought it would be. I think what today's critics are really missing is a broad imagination, and they have learned to go too much by the book rather than say "Hey, that was creative!"
The Lovely Bones is a great movie, that although has some minor flaws, is wonderfully directed and is emotionally stunning, shocking, and satisfying.

My verdict: 9/10

-Wolfie