The Lovely Bones (2009)

I really didn't know much about this film other than it was a bestselling book that was now being made into a film. I always feel out of the intellectual loop when I believe that a film is an original idea. Though I should know that these days a lot of films are based on books or some sort of literary work these days. I guess there's a part of me that holds out hope for something completely original, which doesn't happen often these days in film. Well, at least not mainstream films.

"The Lovely Bones" is a film directed by Peter Jackson, who most people know as the director of HUGE budget fare such as "The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy" and "King Kong". The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Michalka, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and Rose McIver. The film is narrated by Ronan and is about the rape and murder of her character and she watches from heaven as her family deals with her death and the search for the man who murdered her. It's a very involving film and the performances are top notch. First, I have to talk about Stanley Tucci. WOW. He really embodies his character here and that's very scary. His character is wonderfully creepy if that makes any sense and the subject matter only makes the character even creepier than he already is. You can definitely tell that Tucci did his homework with this character. His voice his different and he has these creepy eyes, which are probably contacts, in. Saoirse Ronan does a wonderful job playing this very difficult role of a girl who is raped and murdered and discovers life on the other side while not wanting to except the other side until her killer is caught. It's a lot to ask from a young actress but Ronan is right up there with Dakota Fanning. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz do a solid job of supporting this heavy story and their performances are the very definition of support. They add an extra weight to the story. Susan Sarandon is darkly funny as the alcoholic grandmother who helps the family in her own dysfunctional way. She really adds some sort of comedic relief to the film.

As a heavyweight director, I'm pretty sure that Peter Jackson wanted to do something a little lighter. After "King Kong" wouldn't you? The effort shown here is definitely something to be desired and even admired. However, this is one of those films that is very muddled. Visually this film is great. Jackson knows how to do visuals very well, but he handles this story, with such a heavy subject matter, and almost puts a family friendly stamp on it. It's understandable in order to appeal to the widest possible audience, but it can definitely hurt the film. I really felt this film was in the "in between" like Ronan's character in the film. It's stuck between being bad and great. Having said that, it's definitely worth seeing for the visuals and the performances alone. I just felt that the pacing of the film and the events that are shown are a little muddled and almost confuse you at times. Also once again I felt the ending was rushed. Some films spend so much time with the setup that by the time they start telling the actual story, there's no time. So there was a rush to end things I felt like.

I'm pretty sure that the blu ray of this film will be a marvel to look at and that really where this film is the strongest. All in all I would say definitely see it. The DVD and blu ray is released on April 20th but it might still be in theaters if you want that experience.