Director Peter Jackson creates another masterpiece, this time from the best-selling novel, The Lovely Bones.
Artwork by Daniel Mardirosian
Chances are, most of us have seen a Peter Jackson movie, as his films stand out from others. As evidenced by The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong (2006), Jackson’s films usually contain fantasy elements, a lot of action and CGI, and a length of over two hours. However, Jackson’s latest film, The Lovely Bones (based on Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel), was a bit different from his others.
“My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name, Susie. I was 14 when I was murdered,” is how young Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan, Atonement) begins to tell her story in The Lovely Bones. Susie is relating her tale from the heavens, where she watches over her family and her killer as well. Ronan, who received much praise (and even an Oscar nomination) for her acting in Atonement, gave another phenomenal performance as Susie Salmon. During her narration, I felt as if Susie was at peace, as she sounded hopeful and calm instead of frightened, which most of us would probably feel. Listening to Susie’s story, I could not help but feel sorry for her.
Before her fateful day, Susie was just an average girl: she was a photographer (which plays an important role later on) with a loving family consisting of a brother and sister, parents Jack (Mark Wahlberg, Max Payne) and Abigail (Rachel Weisez, The Constant Gardener), and Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon, Thelma and Louise).
At school, Susie met a boy whom she was supposed to meet at the mall but a few days before the event, she was murdered. One day during the onset of winter, Susie was walking home from school, treading across a flat and barren cornfield. When her neighbor, Mr. George Harvey (Stanley Tucci, The Devil Wears Prada), invites her underneath a trapdoor to see what he created. Susie, reluctant at first, eventually decided to check it out. When she did, my first thought was, “As a young girl, why would you want to venture underground with a strange man?” Stanley Tucci (whose performance got him nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor) gave a creepy and unsettling performance as Susie’s killer. As nice as he led her to believe he was, Mr. Harvey lured Susie in, and when she realized what was happening, it was too late. I am glad Peter Jackson did not show the graphic details of Susie’s murder, because the audience can figure it out for themselves.
After her death, Suzie’s family became deeply affected. Her father became somewhat obsessed with the case, as he wanted the murderer brought to justice. When Suzie’s mom became bedridden, Grandma Lynn was called in to take care of things (the children, and house). During this brief scene, Susan Sarandon gave a memorable performance as the hip grandma, but I felt as if her role was not big enough, as she did not have much screen time.
As tragic as is Susie’s death was, her afterlife was visually breathtaking. After her death, Susie was in a dimension that was not earth or heaven; it was the in-between. Once introduced to this surreal, in-between world, I immediately knew it was created by Peter Jackson, as it was full of amazing CGI techniques.
When Susie’s father was upset with her death, he began to break the tiny ships in bottles that they built together. In Susie’s world, however, these ships in bottles were massive as they came falling from the sky. In fact, most of these CGI effects were so amazingly done, they really need to be seen in order to plant a picture in the mind.
Since I never got the chance to read the novel before I saw The Lovely Bones, I cannot compare the two; however, I have heard the book is much better (which is common with most literary works that become movies). Regardless, I thought The Lovely Bones was amazingly put together and I highly recommend it. While the book is said to be more for teenage girls, I think the movie is for everyone, especially Peter Jackson fans. The Lovely Bones is a familiar Jackson movie (a running time of over two hours, amazing CGI, and lengthy end credits) but on a subject he has never covered before. Nevertheless, Jackson did a great job, and while everyone may not understand the movie (it is a deep movie), those who are spiritual and believe in an afterlife will really love The Lovely Bones.
Rating: ★★★★★
