The Lovely Bones by Peter Jackson (2009)
13 December 2009Peter Jackson’s latest is a return to a Heavenly Creatures type of film, and while the reviews are pretty mixed, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Sure some of the effects do look pretty digital, and the story is not at all complicated, but to me, it is well done, well acted, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it to anyone this Holiday season.
Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a 14 year old girl living happily with her family in 1973, who we learn will soon be brutally murdered. Susie could not be a happier girl, living with her family, her accountant father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), her younger sister Lindsey (Rose Mclver) and the youngest child Buckley (Christian Thomas Ashdale). Susie is smitten with an Indian boy from England Ray Singh (Reece Ritchie), and with some pushing from her Grandmother Lynn (Susuan Sarandon) and his like for her agrees to go meet him at the mall. Susie also takes a lot of photos with the 110 camera her parents gave her, going through 24 rolls in a short time, much to the chagrin of her parents who agree to develop only one a month, but she may have a photo of her killer in it.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Susie has as strange neighbor though, who makes doll houses that sell at the mall. This is George Harvey (Stanley Tucci looking completely different than I have ever seen him!). He goes out in a local corn field that winter, and digs a room in the ground, and manages to lure Susie into it one day, where he kills her. We see her running away, and one strange girl in her class Ruth Conners (Carolyn Dando) who sees things, sees Susie’s ghost running away, and finds the poem that was given to her by Ray, which leads her into a relationship with Ray.
Susie wakes up in the place in between Heaven and Earth, filled with things from both, where see meets a young chinese girl who calls herself Holly Go Lightly (Nikki Soohoo) and who tries to get Susie to go to Heaven, but Susie is not ready to give up the real world, or the helping her family find who killed her.
Police detective Len Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) is brought in to investigate, but he finds nothing, and Jack becomes obsessed with finding his daughters killer, even being convinced Susie is still there, when she reaches for him from the other side. Abigail doesn’t cope well, and Jack brings in her mother Lynn to help, and Abigail ends up taking off, going to pick apples.
Jack keeps working, bothering Fenerman, trying to find the killer, while Susie plays with Holly. Susie wants revenge and when Jack, as well as Lindsey both begin to suspect George, things start to go bad.
Susie pushes her dad, who goes out in the fully grown corn field with a bat, but runs into high schoolers making out, and he is beaten almost to death. Lindsey ends up sneaking into George’s house, and is almost caught by him, but finds his notebook with the plans for the kill room, and even a lock of Susie’s hair. She is going to show it to her dad, but her mom returns, and by the time the cops go for George, he is gone, and has gotten rid of the body in a safe into a local sync hole.
Susie is almost ready to go to Heaven, and she meets all the other girls murdered by George, and decides to go back for one more thing. Susie goes back and takes over the body of Ruth, so she can talk to and kiss Ray before going to Heaven for good.
The film ends with George trying to get another girl, but an icicle falls and hits him, making him slip and fall down a cliff, smashing his head.
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I really enjoyed the film, and the feel of Heavenly Creatures (though not the performance of Kate Winslett in that, which was so amazing). This is not the best film of the year, but certainly enjoyable, and worth checking out!
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