Peter Jackson and his signature special effects bring life to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones.
Jackson directed, produced, and helped write the screenplay for The Lovely Bones.
Half the movie was filmed with a blue screen, making Jackson’s vision essential to the final outcome.
The Lovely Bones takes place in 1973 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburban town filled with normal families and no crime.
Susie Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan, (City of Ember, Atonement) is a typical 14 year old girl, until her neighbor George Harvey, played by Stanley Tucci, (Julie & Julia, The Tale of Despereaux) lures her into an underground room and murders her.
After Susie dies she refuses to move on to Heaven, so she gets stuck in “The In Between,” a combination of earth and paradise. She watches over her family, friends, crush, and murder, but it comes at a price.
The stunning images and amazing effects of Susie’s In Between will send chills down the spines of anyone who sees it. Jackson’s vision fused earth’s memories with Heaven’s freedom.
At first, all memories are happy, and Susie describes it as “[Her] own perfect world.” But, slowly, evil memories of her death begin to blend in with the good ones, and eventually, Susie can see that her own bad memories are affecting her family.
The Lovely Bones focuses on the strength of relationships and love, even after death.
The predominant relationship is the one between Susie and her father, Jack Salmon, played by Mark Wahlberg (The Happening, The Departed). Jack hunts for his daughter’s murder relentlessly. He won’t rest until Susie has been avenged.
Abigail Salmon, played by Rachel Weisz (Definitely, Maybe, About a Boy), Susie’s mother, refuses to forget about her little girl. She searches for herself through her dead daughter’s memory.
Ray Singh, played by Reece Ritchie (10,000 BC), Susie’s crush, remembers Susie as more and more time passes. He never regrets his feelings for her, despite the fact that he can’t ever see her again.
The extremely talented cast has a combined 71 awards and 88 nominations, including two Golden Globes.
Tucci gives the best performance, portraying George Harvey, a clever, but extremely disturbed serial murderer of young girls. He has already had a Golden Globe nomination for his outstanding depiction. The Oscar nomination goes to Susan Sarandon.
Peter Jackson has yet again shown the world his unique and creative vision. The Lovely Bones’ special effects will amaze any audience and possibly propel the movie to future award shows.
One out of four stars, Running time 105 minutes, Rated PG, Now Playing at the Birmingham Palladium.
