Reviewed by Kate Rodger
There is nothing like the pressure and hype following up from blockbuster mega-hits like Lord of the Rings and King Kong with the adaptation of yet another much-loved book.
But then nobody can ever question Peter Jackson’s cinematic guts and gumption. A relative unknown from the other side of the planet who secured big Hollywood studio funding to make one of the most successful movie franchises in history certainly must back himself.
Here Peter Jackson leaves orcs and gorillas behind him for now, with his adaptation of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the story of Susie Salmon, raped and murdered at 14, and watching over her family from the afterlife.
Jackson’s highly-anticipated visual interpretation of Susie’s in-between world is definitely lush and unearthly, the highlight an amazing sequence of giant ships in giant bottles crashing onto the shore of Susie’s afterlife. But it was the more earthly-bound storyline which was for me, far more intense and nourishing.
Stanley Tucci as Susie's killer Mr Harvey is standout, and Oscar-worthy. His predatory, murderous intent is delivered with a terrifying stillness, helped by Jackson using his pictures and sound (or rather lack of sound) to gripping effect. A frightening bath scene, and another inside one of Mr Harvey’s dolls-houses with the police quite literally breathing down his neck, are heart-stopping.
Story-wise, there are certain casualties when translating book to screen, and the viewer must live with the choices of the filmmaker. An audience will be split into those who read the book and those who didn’t, and their needs are very different. When the source material is beloved, the stakes are even higher.
Jackson chose to steer clear of showing the actual rape and the murder of Susie Salmon. Some will see this as a cop-out, I did not. The subtle, revolting, depraved hunger of Tucci as he looked on his prey before he struck was enough to know his intent and powerful enough to fill me with genuine horror. I for one did not need to see that followed through.
Far less is made of Susie’s mother Abigail’s affair with policeman Len Fenermen, and as a result the impact of her grief and alienation from her husband and family is a lesser experience for the viewer.
The performances are universally good. Tucci is the highlight, and both Ronan and Sarandon deliver on the promise of their characters. Young up and coming kiwi actress Rose McIver as Susie's younger sister Lindsey is also one to watch, although I did struggle somewhat with the passing years for Lindsey. It wasn’t her performance, more her look and the pace with which the story glossed over this time (which I suspect was a duration issue).
The Lovely Bones wasn’t the five star wonder-movie I’d hoped for, but I left the cinema more than satisfied with Jackson’s take on Susie Salmon. As I did with Alice Sebold’s book, I craved an exacting revenge for her death, I felt a father’s love for his daughter and I felt his all-consuming grief at losing her. And as Susie mourned all the life’s experiences she would miss, I mourned with her too.
Four stars.
The Lovely Bones
:: Director: Peter Jackson/br>
:: Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan, Susan Sarandon
:: Running Time: 135 mins
:: Rating: M - Contains Violence
:: Release Date: December 26, 2009
:: Trailer: Click here
