“Before seeing this movie, there were two things that I kept on hearing. One was the controversy over leaving out the murder/rape stuff. The other the debate whether or not it was unfilmable. Before I comment, should point out that no, I haven’t read the book. But I am very interested to. I usually prefer to go backwards (see movie then, read book) so I will be adding it to my list. That said.
On that first issue, I think they made the right call. It didnt take a lot to put 2 and 2 together and figure out what happened to Susie Salmon. Also, I really liked the way they transitioned into her death. I knew she was going to be killed, and I actually believed for a second that she hadn’t been. I was almost as surprised as she was when she realized it (not quite though cause I did know it was coming. Not a spoiler, cause its the basic premise of the story)
As far as the unfilmable bit, sorta inclined to agree. At least, I think I do. The reason its considered that is because of the whole “”in between”” stuff (where she’s in a purgatory state of not on earth, not in heaven). I really coulda done without all that. I was into the story otherwise, but it lost me everytime we went back there. That also really bogged down the pacing. I did like her having a connection to the living, but the whole What Dreams May Come-ish afterlife world just didnt work right.
I will say the cast was fantastic. Loved Saoirse Ronan even from the trailers for Atonement. That is one intense little actress, and with an Academy Award nod already under her belt there’ll be no stopping her. Heart Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weitz, of course, but the scene stealer was Susan Sarrandon who’s been a fave of mine since I first saw The Client. Excellent choice for the eccentric grandma.
The other debate I’ve been hearing is over Stanley Tucci. He’s got a good chance of scoring an Oscar nod this year. The question is Lovely Bones or Julie & Julia? Most tend to lean toward Lovely Bones. I disagree. Yes he was fantastic. He so fully embodied this really creepy character, including voice and mannerisms. However I felt there was a lot more depth to him in …Julia. There he shone by helping his costar shine, and we all fell in love with him for it, or at least I did. And while we all know how much I love psycho killers (Dexter, Patrick Bateman, etc) Im not quite ready to add him to the list of the most classic killers.
Yeah so it seems I liked it more than a lot of others did. Its losing half a point for the whole in between fail. Otherwise, really intriguing story with a great cast.
The Lovely Bones – \m/ \m/ \n