Just to start off, I’ve never read the book that the movie is based on. I tried, twice, and couldn’t get past the first two chapters. If you’ve read the book you likely know why. There were some heavy, upsetting things that happened and although those actions set up the entire book, I just could not bring myself to keep reading.
So that’s my disclaimer to the below review :)
Movie: The Lovely Bones
Rating: PG-13
Release date: December 11, 2009
Everyday Adventures’ grade: B-/C+
Summary: Based on the Alice Sebold book, The Lovely Bones is set in the early 70s, where Susie (Saoirse Ronan) is murdered by her brutal, deceptive neighbor (Stanley Tucci) and her family (Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz) deals with her terrible loss and tries to solve her murder.
My thoughts: Yeah, this movie is kind of a downer. I wouldn’t go see this if you’re looking for something light and fluffy but if you read the book ahead of time, you probably already knew that :)
For not reading the book and judging this solely on the movie. It was…okay. Visually, it was amazing. After LOTR, everyone knows Peter Jackson has a great eye for CGI and creating alternate worlds, and he does that here, weaving between real life and this “inbetween” world. What I found to be a little lacking was the story, which I had a hard time following in parts.
The most poignant scenes were the ones Susie narrates about her close relationship with her dad. Their close relationship and how lost he feels after she’s gone and her death being unresolved was very difficult to watch without crying. TC and I were both reaching for the tissues. But I had a hard time following how she communicates with her family, what this “inbetween” world is, how all of it fits together, especially at the end. To me, it felt very…unresolved or unsatisfying in how it ended.
The best part of this movie is Stanley Tucci, who is great in every movie he’s in, especially The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Juila. He’s great but in this is he TRULY scary and chilling from his clothing to his mannerisms to the cold look in his eye. He is absolutely mesmerizing in this and creates a level of terror and fear that truly makes you fear and wonder what he’ll do next. He’s nominated for a Golden Globe tonight (as of publish time his category was unannounced) and he definitely is a strong contender. It’s just too bad that he gets lost in a story that jumps around and then ultimately ends without feeling like you went full circle. If nothing else, his performance in this movie is enough to see it.
Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz are good as his parents, I honestly can’t imagine Ryan Gosling playing the dad, but again, I think story makes it difficult to really develop their characters. Although I didn’t read the book, I know a key part in how Susie dies is missing due to the graphic and unsettling subject matter, and I don’t know if that would have really brought the story to another level on film, but I think for how great of a director Peter Jackson is, he needs to tighten up the script a bit more next time to really make it a complete picture.
Oh and be sure to watch for Peter Jackson’s cameo.
What did you think of the movie? If you read the book, did you feel the movie was pretty accurate?
This is known that money makes us independent. But how to act if someone doesn’t have money? The one way is to get the personal loans or just auto loan.
I read the book and although it was disturbing, I was completely mesmerized by it. Not sure yet if I’ll see the film – I’m always reluctant to do that when I’ve liked a book, but I do like Stanley Tucci and I may see it just because you said he was so great in it :)
I really liked the book and I’m not sure i want to see the movie. I know Peter Jackson does amazing films but sometimes a movie just can’t quite capture what the book does.
I hated that book. Not so much because it was poorly written or anything like that, but I just couldn’t take it. I won’t be seeing the movie, because just the previews freak me out. I did hear from a lot of people that Stanley Tucci was great though. Love him.
I don’t think I’ll be seeing the movie. I loved the book so much. Yes, it’s difficult to get through, but I could not put it down. I started reading it at lunch one day at my previous job and barely made it back to work on time. I think I’ll just read it again instead of seeing the movie.
you should read the book. you would understand a lot better how she communicates with her family which the movie left very….open. the movie missed SO many important emotional elements of the story – especially the struggle that her sister goes through after she dies & why she starts running all the time. they could have done a lot better.