Review: The Lovely Bones

Having only been able to get a few chapters through Alice Seabold's book of The Lovely Bones I approached Peter Jackson's adaptation with some trepadation. For those not familiar of the story it involves a 14 year old girl who is murdered by a neighbour and watches the events of the investigation and it's effect on her family. There are really two parts to this film the segments with Suzie in the afterlife of 'The inbetween' and those in the suburban surroundings involving Suzie's family and her killer. If there was a director who would be able to capture the imagination of the book then it would be Peter Jackson. His stunning art direction almost manages to capture the book's vision of Suzie's inbetween however not enough time is given to these segments. Meanwhile the tense scenes where Suzie's father tries to prove to the police that it was in fact their neighbour who killed his daughter are better constructed even if some of them are a little dull.

For me the film's main issue is its failure to hit the real issues the themes of life and death and the abuse that the neighbour has caused his many younger victims is glossed over. This is mainly down to the film's 12A rating which prevents the mention of rape specifically and also of the more gruesome scenes involving the discovery of Suzie's body. Having read some of the book and watching the film with someone who managed to get the entire way through there were noticeable chunks missing from the film which formed part of the enjoyment of the story. Of the performances Saiorse Ronan is great as Suzie Salmon even though the role is a hard one to play she does it with the maturity of someone beyond her years. Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci is rightfullly creepy as the killer even if though I did prefer his turn in Julie and Julia over this is still nice to see him finally get some recognition from the academy. Mark Wahlberg is also very watchable as Suzie's father and Susan Sarandon adds light relief as the grandmother but Rachel Weisz has less to work with as Suzie's mother.

Overall the film is well performed but ultimately it's a bit light and over the top and doesn't reflect the grit and passion of the original story, Jackson tries his best but this one just fails to hit the mark and leave a lasting impression.