Monday, May 24, 2010

Movie Review: The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones is a new DVD release, which brings to the screen Alice Sebold’s heart-wrenching novel of the same name. While the film does not follow the book precisely, director Peter Jackson (from Lord of the Rings fame) does keep the same tone and mystical quality that Sebold’s original novel possessed. The audience sees the main character, Susie Salmon, in a happy family setting growing up, and then flash-forwards to Susie at age 14. She then reveals to the audience that she has been murdered by someone she knows, and so begins The Lovely Bones. Jackson’s film version has a fairly reasonable plotline, with Oscar-nominated bad guy Stanley Tucci giving the creepiest performance of his life. The middle 90 minutes of movie seems to drag on, while Susie (or her spirit) is caught in limbo between Heaven and remaining on Earth to help her grieving family and seek revenge for her death. Susan Sarandon does an excellent job as the eccentric Grandmother who helps the devastated parents, but the comic relief Sarandon provides seems out of place in this mostly serious film. The Lovely Bones is rated PG-13 for some violent content, mature themes, and language. - Kathy (Sunset)

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