The Lovely Bones Review

Posted by Chad Webb on 12.21.2009

Peter Jackson shows us Heaven, but is it a place you want to visit?

Saoirse Ronan: Susie Salmon
Rachel Weisz: Abigail Salmon
Mark Wahlberg: Jack Salmon
Susan Sarandon: Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci: George Harvey
Rose McIver: Lindsey Salmon
Michael Imperioli: Len Fenerman
Reece Ritchie: Ray Singh
Carolyn Dando: Ruth
Amanda Michalka: Clarissa
Jake Abel: Brian Nelson
Nikki Soohoo: Holly
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Written By: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson
Release Date: December 11, 2009
Running Time: 135 minutes







Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.

Peter Jackson’s latest film, The Lovely Bones, an adaptation of the popular novel by Alice Sebold, is about a young girl who looks down from her Heaven as her family suffers following her unsolved death. It is presented with posthumous narration, which is an important fact to remember while watching. The death was that of Susie Salmon. In the book, her throat was slit, she was raped, and her body was dismembered. Peter Jackson and his co-writers elected to delete this from the final version of the film. It was not a choice everyone agreed with. Her death occurs off screen, but there is such a thing as reading between the lines. The dialogue, mannerisms, and atmosphere certainly allude to what will happen. It does not need to be seen.

Jackson had his reasons for not including such a violent sequence. For starters, they did not want to turn the film into Saoirse Ronan’s equivalent to Hounddog (which starred Dakota Fanning). That forgotten film was evidence that such a graphic moment can overshadow the whole film. If that is not enough of a reason, consider this: By cutting that out The Lovely Bones was then able to land a PG-13 rating, allowing young girls Susie’s age the chance to see this film. In my mind, that is the only reason Jackson ever needed to voice. If girls her age cannot see this film, and learn from it, then who is it helping? This is one of those rare films that is not gory enough for critics. Had the scene remained, it also would have been a detriment for being needlessly violent. Some people will never be satisfied. Perhaps they do not want to be satisfied. That can happen when a book that has sold 15 million copies worldwide is transferred to the big screen. I find it a little picky however, that one of the most devoted adaptations of a novel all decade is bashed for removing this scene.

The Lovely Bones is indeed a relentlessly faithful adaptation and this is one of the uncommon cases where I read the book before the film was released. Director Peter Jackson is building a reputation on his loyalty and dependability to the source material. In the past I have avoided addressing this issue for films in general because it should not matter, but with Jackson it is impossible not to cover that. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was adored by fans of the books, and for those King Kong fans (myself among them), Jackson inserted numerous sequences and nods to the original 1933 masterpiece. He maintains that reliable closeness with The Lovely Bones, and for the most part, it is a success, but on a couple of occasions, the emotion fails to translate properly.

Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a 14-year-old girl, who lives in suburban Pennsylvania. She has a relatively normal family life with her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), sister Lindsey (Rose McIver), and brother Buckley (Christian Thomas Ashdale). Her Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon) visits regularly as well. Her school life is fairly ordinary, but her thoughts lately are dominated by Ray Singh (Reece Ritchie), an attractive young boy with whom she exchanges playful glances in the mall and the school hallways. One day, following a near first-kiss experience with Ray, Susie’s existence is shattered by a neighbor named George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). He lures Susie down into a hand-made hatch buried beneath a cornfield. He tells her it is a fort for kids to have fun in. All it took was that one mistake of actually following Mr. Harvey down there. He kills her, but her body is not found by the local authorities. Her family is devastated, and her father Jack works desperately to find clues and help the police, but to no avail. With no proof, it sounds like the ramblings of a distraught father. Meanwhile, Susie is transported to a kind of Heaven, a beautiful place where she can make anything happen. While she is stuck in this dimension, she looks on as her family continues to mourn. Their lives change, and the investigation of her murder goes nowhere, but Susie still wants vengeance for her killer, and solace for her family, but as time passes by, she wonders if that will ever come.

Production for The Lovely Bones was anything but a smooth road. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Gosling were both offered the role of Jack Salmon. Gosling initially accepted, but then backed out due to creative differences. On top of that, there was a dispute involving the art direction department and Peter Jackson on how Heaven should look. Who got the better of the situation is anyone’s guess, but I was entranced and mesmerized by the majority of the CGI effects Jackson and company employed. First it should be noted that Susie is not in Purgatory, nor is she fully in Heaven. She is stuck between the two, but more like on Heaven’s doorstep. The depiction of Heaven will not win over everyone, but in my imagination, it should look otherworldly. How else could they have pulled it off? It should be a place that is crafted to each and every inhabitant, where all that you fantasize about can come true.

This is almost totally realized, and is somewhat reminiscent of What Dreams May Come. Watching Susie walk across a vast beach as floating mountain waterfalls overhead, or sledding across the snow onto an icy lake as a beautiful red flower blooms beneath is breathtaking. Because Susie is worried about her family, and the fate of her murderer, what materializes in Heaven is not always positive. Sometimes it results in painful memories. The scene on the beach is mixed with thoughts of giant ships in bottles. She helped her Dad make the little ships in bottles when she was alive. It was a hobby of his that he planned on passing to her. Sequences like that are amazingly handled. The manner in which they had Susie observing her family on Earth was adeptly constructed as well. She stands in a gazebo that means something special to her, and glances either into a body of water or in the distance at the sky. It is not consistent, but it is seamless.

Unfortunately the special effects are not perfect. In one montage, Susie is seen as a celebrity on the cover of a magazine, and even though this was a dream of hers that most young girls can relate to, the CGI is rendered a bit cheesy. The other notable mistake lies with a concluding scene that I cannot spoil. The intention is clear, but the necessary emotion is not conveyed properly. In defense of the goal in The Lovely Bones, many will state that the film chooses style over substance. In some instances it absolutely does. Since much of the story takes place in Heaven, a place where the “style” is crucial, it was mandatory that the panache and slick design be given top priority. What it represents to Susie and how she describes it is a principal element of the story. If “Heaven” was not the focus, the unique perspective of the tale would have been cloudy. The profound impact of the story separate from Susie’s Heaven is not overwhelmed to a damaging degree. Quite the contrary actually.

Losing a child or a sibling is something many people can sympathize with. And if it has not happened, the nightmare of imagining it will immediately swell the emotions as this story unravels. The posthumous voice-over from Susie is incredibly literary, but also extremely elegant and thoughtful. If Saoirse Ronan’s performance was limited to just narration, it would still be terrific, but she gracefully epitomizes a young girl who was robbed of her innocence, along with the opportunity to experience a future filled with education, more family memories, and most importantly romance. Ronan has the ability to command a scene better than actors twice or triple her age. Her piercing blue eyes and penetrating gaze are impossible to ignore, but as Susie, she proves her range as a frightened girl in a world full of unknown surprises. All she can do is watch her family. The rest is up to them.

The acting is uniformly excellent. The problem is that not all of the cast members have the opportunity to unload their own personal powerhouse moments. Mark Wahlberg is concentrated and fantastic as the grieving father. The lack of closure to his daughter’s death turns him into an obsessed investigator of sorts. Wahlberg makes these comical moments of delivering suspicious names to the police believable. Any father could conceivably go through a phase like this, and Wahlberg does a fine job at convincing us how and why he could break the law and go a bit crazy to find this killer. Rachel Weisz is outstanding as the wife and mother whose affliction lies in stewing and pent up aggravataion. She has refused to let anyone touch Susie’s room, and hopes that by ignoring everything associated with her, the pain will go away eventually.

The show stealer is Stanley Tucci as George Harvey, a creepy middle-aged man who lives down the street. Tucci is marvelous at being that guy families do not notice. His negative qualities emerge to the viewer because we know he is a killer, but from the opposite stance, Mr. Harvey is just a reserved and possibly odd man living alone. He knows that the police have nothing against him, or even suspect him. In one magnificent scene, he is questioned by Detective Len Fenerman, and Tucci controls the conversation with total confidence and calmness as the detectives snoop around the doll houses he fashions. Tucci expresses George Harvey as a man with disturbing secrets buried deep beneath the surface. He does not exaggerate the fact that he has slain someone, but the casual glimpses he has with Jack and Lindsey Salmon are saturated with tension. The suspense is irrefutable when Tucci is on screen. Take for example the scene where he entices Susie into his trap. Despite the fact that the death is not seen, watching Susie become restless while Mr. Harvey talks with her is priceless.

Detective Len Fenerman is portrayed by Michael Imperioli, handing in an admirable turn as the officer who wants to help ease the anguish of this family, but must abide by the law at the same time. He must juggle both, and Imperioli accomplishes that frustration well. Rose McIver is solid as Lindsey Salmon, Susie’s sister, who always passes by George Harvey’s house during her cross-country practice. She suspects him, but has no way of proving it. Carolyn Dando is Ruth, a girl Susie’s age that thinks she might not be completely gone. She befriends Ray Singh, played by Reece Ritchie, after Susie’s death. Both are pleasing in these roles. Susan Sarandon is Grandma Lynn, the chain-smoking, booze guzzling, and bizarrely wise woman that stays at the house to handle a few chores during the rough time. Sarandon was perfectly cast and lightens the depressing components with some welcomed humor. Each one of these parts could have been better had they been given more time, but the talented cast makes each second count regardless.

Peter Jackson tackled similar terrain with 1994’s brilliant Heavenly Creatures, and while the mood and attention to visuals are similar, The Lovely Bones is not geared as much to a crime thriller or romance as that was. Jackson balances the multiple storylines and numerous characters in The Lovely Bones with sensibleness and fortitude. It was not easy, but he highlights the critical areas with class. The cinematography from Andrew Lesnie is remarkable and at times glorious. The attention to detail in regards to the time period is top-notch. The costume design and set decoration support this skillfully. Jabez Olssen’s editing cuts back and forth between Susie’s Heaven and the Earth drama effectively without that jarring feeling. Although the tragic and affecting aspects of the situation would have swelled anyway, the music from Brian Eno is also exceptional.

The Lovely Bones is not a story about revenge. It is about the healing process, and how it works differently for different people. It is just as crucial that Susie move on as it is for her family to come to grips with the fact that she is never coming back. Peter Jackson’s passion for the project is commendable, but he is too focused on honoring the author and the novel to find a rhythm that suits his techniques for the best finished film. This is not a flawless piece, but it is an emotionally stirring, visually astute, and rich story that demonstrates how destructive a single loss can be. With the help of an appropriately fervent cast, Jackson communicates how one death can alter the fabric of a family, and how every life counts. The Lovely Bones endured some evident missteps along the way, but it successfully captured the heart of the story, and in the end, that is what matters.

The 411: I was greatly anticipating The Lovely Bones. I read the novel before the film was announced, and was very fond of it. I expected to be blown away by Peter Jackson’s adaptation, and while that did not happen, I still enjoyed this picture. The performances from Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, and the rest of the supporting cast are sensational, the visuals are stunning, and story manages to be compelling, suspenseful, and touching even if it makes a few mistakes here and there. At times this is style over substance, but that does have to be a flaw. The style in this film is given a lot of focus, but not too much. The result is flawed, but still a wonderful movie. This is still limited, but will expand on Christmas Day. It will make you appreciate the time spent with loved ones.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]