The Lovely Bones (Stanley Tucci, Saoirse Ronan) : Movie Review
December 18, 2009 by Sean Lynch
Filed under Movie Reviews, Movies
With James Cameron’s long awaited Avatar blowing audiences away, it’s only appropriate that Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings follow up, The Lovely Bones, hits cinemas as well.
Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed Jackson (who also wrote the screenplay with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens), The Lovely Bones centres on a young girl who has been murdered by a creepy next door neighbour, and must now watch over her family – and her killer – from heaven.
She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal…
Mark Whalberg : Gonna Take This Neighbourhood Down!
WHAT’S THE BUZZ
I know lovers of the novel have been hanging out for this puppy for a long time, and I wish I had better news… but much like the plight of the characters within The Lovely Bones, things haven’t exactly gone to plan. There is nothing you can do about it, so just deal with it and move on.
What should be (and occasionally is) a deeply moving story of loss, mixed with the chilling portrait of a cold-souled killer (and the suburbia that keeps him hidden), The Lovely Bones ultimately delivers little more than an opportunity for Stanley Tucci to do his best Dustin Hoffman impression, Mark Wahlberg a chance to rehash that really creepy whisper talk he seemed to love in Fear, and for Peter Jackson’s pals in the CGI department to work on their photoshop skills.
Anytime the film builds up a bit of momentum or tension (largely stemming from the “will he / won’t he get caught” plight of our friendly neighbourhood murderer) Jackson heads back into Lord Of The Rings territory (three films which I just loathed, for the record) where everything needs to look slightly euphoric and dialogue needs to be overally profound. In doing so, he dilutes any potential emotional impact thanks to the sheer pomposity of it all.
Susan Sarandon’s inspired, but ultimately pointless, inclusion proves once again she is still the best in Hollywood when comes to playing “an old, drunken whore”, while Rachel Weisz doesn’t have the impact or the opportunity she probably should as the heart broken mother.
Wahlberg, despite his best efforts, is woefully miscast as an unusually buff and youthful accountant and father (my brother is an accountant… believe me… he doesn’t look like he could snap a fully grown cows head off like Whalberg does) – and really only causes excitement when the audience gets a hint that The Lovely Bones might digress into a good ol’ fashioned bloody and violent vigilante revenge flick.
If you love the book, by all means, give this one a whirl just to play the “comparison” game. But if you are looking to The Lovely Bones for some subconcious way to deal with your own mortality issues and seek answers of the afterlife – skip this and go rent the Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr two hander What Dreams May Come.
At least in that, heaven is made of paint… not a gazeebo.
WATCH OUT FOR
Giant miniature ships inside bottles and enormous beachballs… in the sea, a couple of the better visuals on offer (which would also go down a treat as a computer screensaver).
WATCH OUT FOR | RATING : 2 / 5
Rachel Weisz had most of her scenes cut out of the film because Peter Jackson wanted to focus on the fantasy other than the reality. The same with Susan Sarandon. both actress were done a huge disservice by their director.
I think the focus on the fantasy actually works against the movie. Had the fantasy suplemented it, there would have been a much more engrossing movie in there somewhere. The actors are all on form when given the chance, but not enough chances are given.