The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones, directed by Peter Jackson, is an abysmal way to spend 135 minutes. The film is overtly saccharine. It throttles the life out of any that may have existed in the book of the same name, The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. To walk away from this film is to be feeling cheap & used. Apparently the same emotions the murdered girl was meant to feel.

The abundance of afterlife, purgatory or 'in-between' (as the film calls it) scenes is pathetic. Multiple shots of massive flowers in fast-forward bloom, long grass, trees & the breeze. Woeful. The style, and most interestingly the song, are lifted directly from The Gladiator. By far the worst scenes in that movie too. The message to be taken from these scenes are disturbingly simple & condescending. Even entering into it as a viewer is foul. The subsatnce of the movie is destroyed by this light philandering.

Oh, if you happen to be murdered - make sure it is by a serial killer. That way, all the victims spend time together frolicking gaily.

The novel's graphic detail of the murder is airbrushed. The central (workable) theme - the father & sister as vigilante heroes - is wiped away along with it. Absolute surface material. I have not one good thing to say about any aspect of the storyline. Some of the computer imagery was good to look at. That gets one mark.

The acting was as good as it could be. Considering the severe limitations foisted by the script. I was appalled by the decision to give Stanley Tucci's character contact lenses. That looked like a freaking snake. Hmm, he baddie. Saoirse Ronan is terrific. On the flip side, 90% of the scenes she appeared in were bowel movement territory. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz & Michael Imperioli. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It didn't matter one bit whether these people were in the movie. Susan Sarandon was OK. The character was light relief. Badly placed and poorly used. Unecessary. A barely pass mark. That leaves Amanda Michalka. A credit mark. A cardboard character, like the rest. Given a little more leeway and the one and only action scene.

3 out of 10

If you have any intention of reading the book, The Lovely Bones, avoid the film like the plague. Before & after. A grand waste of time.