THE LOVELY BONES
LIZ LOPEZ' REVIEW
RATING: B-
Oscar® winning director Peter Jackson (trilogy of The Lord of the Rings) brings Alice Sebold?s bestselling book ?The Lovely Bones? to the big screen. Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens worked together, as they?ve done before on other projects, on the adaptation of the script. The story of 14 year - old Susie Salmon?s (Oscar® nominated Saoirse Ronan) short life, her tragic death and the family?s attempt to try to reconstruct a normal life is based on the teen?s account - post mortem. This film can be listed under several genre?s and Jackson stated ?I like to think of this film as a ?sentimental thriller?? as this is a story of a man who kills for pleasure and is also about a family trying to find a way to reconstruct their life.
It is hard to watch any film about the loss of a child and the film version about her actual murder at the hands of George Harvey (Stanley Tucci) is well done as far as how it limits what the viewer sees about the atrocity. The scene where Harvey is back at home after his recent kill is all that is needed to repulse the viewer. There is plenty of buzz about this film, including a Golden Globe nomination for Stanley Tucci in the Best Supporting Actor category, among both positive and negative comments about the film. Stanley?s performance is chilling. I wholeheartedly agree he deserves the nomination. From the very moment George Harvey appears in the film, the viewer has no doubt this character is sinister.
Nancy Steiner is the costume designer for the film and she did an excellent job of the clothing appropriate for the early 1970s look I remember well from my university days. I guess other ?boomers? will recognize some of the colors and styles that were in vogue.
Mark Wahlberg?s performance as the distraught father, Jack Salmon, is well done, but it jumps from a quiet ember to a roaring fire when the realization that neighbor Harvey is the prime suspect after many months of his own research. I so wanted for the baseball bat to swing Harvey?s head off his neck, but that did not come to pass. Oscar® winning actress Rachel Weisz performed well as the young mother, Abigail Salmon, during the 1970s, but Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon) was just fabulous in her heavy black eyeliner and method of self medication right in front of the children. The several suitcases of makeup and clothing that she had with her when she visited was awesome, indicative of her lifestyle completely opposite from her own family. Lynn has no look of grief at all during the film despite the loss of her granddaughter, so she is working hard to be ?one tough grandma? to try and help the family move forward. At one point, she does tell Abigail she has ?a tomb? in her middle of her home, referring to Susie?s bedroom.
Saoirse Ronan is a talented actress who relays her story from the hereafter, but she is not completely gone. Her lack of complete transition reminded me of the television show, ?Ghost Whisperer?, about all the deceased people who did not make their complete trip to their destination. I liked her performance, as I did in her other films, but the script just seemed to spend more time on scenes of her ?in the middle? (as her little brother refers to it in the film) than I think was necessary. The costumes and the colors were brilliant and visually creative, but shorter works for me.
I love the film completely except for one thing that was a huge let down for me and it is when Harvey decides to make a run for it from his house. There is a very heavy item in his basement and Harvey decides to take it with him along with the overnight bag he just packed. Miraculously, because it is not shown in the film, he is able to lift the item by himself, up the basement stairs, through the house and into the back of his truck. I do not believe he could have done this so quickly in the film and still was able to leave the house before the police arrived. He also did this in broad daylight and suddenly no sign of any neighbors? Then, what seems to be two minutes later in the film, he is at a dumpsite and he gets assistance to unload the object off the truck and roll this square object over and over until it fell to the bottom. Everything was flowing well in the film in my opinion and then I felt so let down at that point, I was glad the film ended a few minutes later. I recommend viewers see the film and make up their own mind about the ending. I hope Stanley Tucci wins the award. He deserves it.
(Top)
MARK SALDANA'S REVIEW
RATING: 3 (Out of 4 Stars)
Regardless of one?s belief or disbelief in ?life? after death, the tragic loss of a loved one, particularly that of a child is devastating. The unexpected death of a child breaks the heart. People often find consolation in their belief that he or she ?has gone to a better place.? Dealing with a missing child has a profound effect because this uncertainty can destroy lives while a death can offer more closure. Parents with missing children often cling to the hope that they will one day see them again. When parents are robbed of a child?s life at the hands of a murder, this especially arouses feelings of anger and vengeance in addition to the grief. These emotionally charged issues are the basis of THE LOVELY BONES, the latest film by acclaimed LORD OF THE RINGS director Peter Jackson.
The movie tells the story of the tragically short life and after-life of Susie Salmon. The setting is 1973, Norristown, Pennsylvania. Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a bright and vibrant high school student with a very loving family. The family, however, is robbed of Susie?s life when neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), who is obsessed with Susie, murders and hides her remains. Susie?s spirit is reluctant to go to heaven as it is hard to let go of her family and her desire for vengeance against Harvey. In limbo, Susie watches as her family struggles to cope with this tragedy. The marriage of Susie?s parents Jack and Abigail (Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz) crumbles as Jack becomes obsessed with finding Susie while in denial of her death, and then with finding her murderer after accepting the fact that she is gone. Susie struggles to communicate with the living to stop Harvey before he attacks his next victim, Susie?s sister Lindsey (Rose McIver).
Based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, director Jackson with his usual writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have brought to the big screen an emotionally touching and heartbreaking story to the big screen. I have not read the novel which provides the source of the film so I cannot critique how accurate and faithful the novel is adapted. In the film, Jackson and his co-writers develop the characters beautifully and infuse the story with genuinely realistic moments of happiness, grief, anger, and frustration. They also succeed in building up tension and suspense as the story comes to a climax. The strength of the script and story is in its ability to connect with audiences in all these emotional levels.
Its weakness lies in the pace of the film that stalls in the middle and towards the end. Jackson and editor Jabez Olssen could have made better choices to keep the film at a nicely even pace. There is also an unusual and unrealistic flaw during the film?s climax that involves a ridiculously heavy safe. I won?t say too much about this because I hate to spoil the viewing experience by revealing too much. I?ll simply state that the loading of a certain safe on to a truck is portrayed as being much easier than the unloading. This comes across as a bit silly and like I previously stated unrealistic.
As visual experience, THE LOVELY BONES is absolutely gorgeous. The scenes between heaven and earth are strikingly beautiful, surreal, and sometimes frightening. The art direction, special, and visual effects, should be well commended. I was awe-struck by the incredible artistry at work in bringing these scenes to life.
Jackson and his casting people have selected a cast who also succeed in bringing these characters to life. Saorise Ronan (ATONEMENT) amazes as the lead character Susie Salmon. I?m surprised that she was not nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance. With excellent performances in this film and ATONEMENT so far, she is a great talent to look for with much enthusiasm. Mark Wahlberg shows a little bit more range than he usually does as Susie?s father Jack. Wahlberg is another actor who usually falls into that acting comfort zone often playing the same character in multiple films. In LOVELY BONES, he shows some of that promise of greatness he did in some of his earlier roles (BASKETBALL DIARIES, BOOGIE NIGHTS) by giving an emotionally charged performance required for this story.
Stanley Tucci who I think is a great actor also shines as the neurotically creepy George Harvey. A pleasant surprise in this film is young actress Rose McIver as Susie?s sister Lindsey. McIver is given some great scenes in the film. I look forward to seeing more work for this bright actress. Susan Sarandon provides some lovely comic relief as the boozy Grandma Lynn. Rachel Weisz does some great work in the film but is definitely underused as Susie?s mother Abigail. I did some research on the novel and discovered that her character in the film is minimized in comparison with the book. This will probably disappoint the die hard fans of the novel.
Overall, I think the film deserves much praise for its success in portraying the emotions expressed in this type of tragedy. I also believe that visuals used to create the ?after-life? are incredible. I just didn?t like some of Jackson?s and his editor?s choices which not only stall the film in more than one moment but also probably contribute to a silly mistake/plot hole involving a safe toward the end of the film. Otherwise, I truly believe audiences will connect with the accuracy in the portrayal of these emotions surrounding a tragic death and will marvel at the visually artistic excellence that brings this heartbreaking story to life and beyond.
(Top)
