The Lovely Bones (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Peter Jackson is known for his rousing 3-hour fantasy epics. His Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time. And his King Kong, which was too bloated, still impressed me in various areas of filmmaking. But Jackson's first film (of note) was 1994's Heavenly Creatures, a strange biographical thriller which incorporated elements of fantasy - to provide context for the 2 lead characters' mindsets. And now, with 'The Lovely Bones', based on a novel by Alice Sebold, Jackson goes back to his roots; creating a grim, strange, genre-defying film (like Heavenly Creatures certainly was). Only this time, the film's source material is stranger, yet. His challenge: how to make a grim, strange, multi-layered novel both accessible & coherent for film audiences.
Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan, of Atonement), a 14 yr. old from suburban Pennsylvania, is raped & murdered on Dec. 6, 1973. She tells us her story from the 'in-between'; where she's trying to get used to her otherworldly surroundings, as well as observe the lives of the people around her on Earth - continuing without her. Everything was taken away from her & right at that pivotal point in her life where she was ready to start becoming a woman. Her friends & family are distressed, as it is not clear if she is missing or dead. Classmates are shaken, including Ray (Reece Ritchie), a boy Susie had hoped to kiss. Det. Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) hunts for clues. Her sister, Lindsey (Rose McIver) laments. Her mom, Abigail (Rachel Weisz), recedes from the family altogether. And her dad, Jack (Mark Wahlberg), is having the worst time of it. All the while, Susie's killer, an unassuming neighbor, Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci), vehemently covers his tracks. It takes a while for Susie to hone in on what she needs to do - properly grieve, act as a guardian angel to her family below, & accomplish with Mr. Harvey what the murder investigation can't. He must never kill another child again.
Ronan's narration is candid & sorrowful. I felt her adolescent naivety, fears, anguish & suffering. It can't be easy to play someone who must solitarily observe the effects of her death on everyone she knew in life. Similarly effective - in a completely separate way - is Stanley Tucci as the sinister Mr. Harvey. Tucci has yet to nab an Oscar nomination, but I bet he gets one this year for this chilling (if underdeveloped) turn. I liked Rose McIver as Susie's headstrong sister; the scene where she is pursued by Mr. Harvey from inside his creepy home is great. Her character is significant; as she is living the life that Susie would have led had she still been alive (school, boyfriends, etc.). Rachel Weisz is good, but the script neglects her exposition-rich character (in the novel). Susan Sarandon hams it up as Susie's boozy Grandma Lynn; who moves into the discordant Salmon household. And Mark Wahlberg is stellar as the lovesick father whose grief gets the better of his mind & body. All that said, while the performances are fine, I wish there had been deeper character development.
'The Lovely Bones' is an imaginative, haunting tale about love, loss & adjustment. The cinematography, set designs, sound & visual effects are all SUPERB. Susie's 'in-between' contains heavenly vistas, lakes, mountains, flowers that bloom under water, & ice-sculptured ships that crash into the shore - spectacular stuff. And much of what occurs in Susie's fantasia mirrors the Hell that her family is going through on Earth - great parallelisms. But novel purists will likely (and rightly) criticize the lack of Salmon family exposition (where the relationships crumble & an extramarital affair occurs). Jackson abandons the complex 'family' thread, & amplifies the world that Susie inhabits above; as well as to focus on the Susie/Mr. Harvey thread. Usually, grabbing 1 or 2 main threads of a dense novel & focusing on just those 1 or 2 is a great idea when adapting a film. Movies run 2 hours long on average, so most subplots (in a novel) rightly fall by the wayside. But 'TLB' is a situation where that family drama did need more heft in this screenplay. This is an epic tale that warranted, perhaps, a 2:30 to 3 hour running length.
With little breathing room for the plot to unfold properly ... this gorgeous, tension-filled, decently acted film feels both underdeveloped & uneven in both structure & tone. Moments of brilliance (one in particular - when Susie observes Mr. Harvey in a sterile bathroom; soaking away the blood & muck from her death scene) are met with too many ineffective stretches; hence, this "mixed" review. I really missed the intimate family component which grounded the book. All that said, despite the structural/tonal flaws, I appreciate its ambition & cathartic conclusion about a blossoming teenage girl whose life was interrupted -- "My name is Susie Salmon, like the fish. I was here for a moment and then I was gone. I wish you all a happy life".
Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan, of Atonement), a 14 yr. old from suburban Pennsylvania, is raped & murdered on Dec. 6, 1973. She tells us her story from the 'in-between'; where she's trying to get used to her otherworldly surroundings, as well as observe the lives of the people around her on Earth - continuing without her. Everything was taken away from her & right at that pivotal point in her life where she was ready to start becoming a woman. Her friends & family are distressed, as it is not clear if she is missing or dead. Classmates are shaken, including Ray (Reece Ritchie), a boy Susie had hoped to kiss. Det. Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) hunts for clues. Her sister, Lindsey (Rose McIver) laments. Her mom, Abigail (Rachel Weisz), recedes from the family altogether. And her dad, Jack (Mark Wahlberg), is having the worst time of it. All the while, Susie's killer, an unassuming neighbor, Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci), vehemently covers his tracks. It takes a while for Susie to hone in on what she needs to do - properly grieve, act as a guardian angel to her family below, & accomplish with Mr. Harvey what the murder investigation can't. He must never kill another child again.
Ronan's narration is candid & sorrowful. I felt her adolescent naivety, fears, anguish & suffering. It can't be easy to play someone who must solitarily observe the effects of her death on everyone she knew in life. Similarly effective - in a completely separate way - is Stanley Tucci as the sinister Mr. Harvey. Tucci has yet to nab an Oscar nomination, but I bet he gets one this year for this chilling (if underdeveloped) turn. I liked Rose McIver as Susie's headstrong sister; the scene where she is pursued by Mr. Harvey from inside his creepy home is great. Her character is significant; as she is living the life that Susie would have led had she still been alive (school, boyfriends, etc.). Rachel Weisz is good, but the script neglects her exposition-rich character (in the novel). Susan Sarandon hams it up as Susie's boozy Grandma Lynn; who moves into the discordant Salmon household. And Mark Wahlberg is stellar as the lovesick father whose grief gets the better of his mind & body. All that said, while the performances are fine, I wish there had been deeper character development.
'The Lovely Bones' is an imaginative, haunting tale about love, loss & adjustment. The cinematography, set designs, sound & visual effects are all SUPERB. Susie's 'in-between' contains heavenly vistas, lakes, mountains, flowers that bloom under water, & ice-sculptured ships that crash into the shore - spectacular stuff. And much of what occurs in Susie's fantasia mirrors the Hell that her family is going through on Earth - great parallelisms. But novel purists will likely (and rightly) criticize the lack of Salmon family exposition (where the relationships crumble & an extramarital affair occurs). Jackson abandons the complex 'family' thread, & amplifies the world that Susie inhabits above; as well as to focus on the Susie/Mr. Harvey thread. Usually, grabbing 1 or 2 main threads of a dense novel & focusing on just those 1 or 2 is a great idea when adapting a film. Movies run 2 hours long on average, so most subplots (in a novel) rightly fall by the wayside. But 'TLB' is a situation where that family drama did need more heft in this screenplay. This is an epic tale that warranted, perhaps, a 2:30 to 3 hour running length.
With little breathing room for the plot to unfold properly ... this gorgeous, tension-filled, decently acted film feels both underdeveloped & uneven in both structure & tone. Moments of brilliance (one in particular - when Susie observes Mr. Harvey in a sterile bathroom; soaking away the blood & muck from her death scene) are met with too many ineffective stretches; hence, this "mixed" review. I really missed the intimate family component which grounded the book. All that said, despite the structural/tonal flaws, I appreciate its ambition & cathartic conclusion about a blossoming teenage girl whose life was interrupted -- "My name is Susie Salmon, like the fish. I was here for a moment and then I was gone. I wish you all a happy life".