The Lovely Bones: Too Many Parts to This Body

The cardinal rule of “show, don’t tell,” when writing or moviemaking is unfortunately the one Peter Jackson decided to boldly break while directing this much-anticipated film. The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold’s bestselling novel, was more of a disconnected smorgasbord of genres, themes and tones jumbled together within a monstrous montage than a movie. Perhaps Ms. Sebold will find it flattering that the writers tried desperately to not merely adapt the novel, but transfer it onto the big screen; audiences, however, will find it overwhelming.

Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) is perfectly cast as our ghostly guide and heaven bound heroine, Susie Salmon, who is, ironically, the most vivacious character in the film. After falling prey to the alluring trap set fastidiously by a harmless-looking neighbor (Stanley Tucci), Susie’s spirit plunges into the mysterious realm of the “in-between” – a majestic wonderland of Daliesque symbolism and imagery in which gigantic rubber balls bounce across ice, a menagerie of adorable dogs frolic in celestial parks and colossal ships in bottles drift on an endless sea before crashing into icebergs. It is from this amorphous “blue horizon” that Susie observes those she has left behind including her heartbroken family, a strange and sorrowful schoolmate (Carolyn Dando), and a charming young man we can presume was her first legitimate love interest (Reece Ritchie).

Here on Earth, Susie’s father (Mark Wahlberg) ceaselessly pursues his daughter’s killer and after a year, still hunts clues to his identity. Her mother (Rachel Weisz), unable to cope with her loss and her husband’s grief-wrought obsession, moves to California, leaving zany boozer Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon) to care for Susie’s young siblings. Her family’s pain is an emotion the audience never truly feels; rather we sense a strange detachment from the living as we abide with Susie in her paradise, allowing her soothing narration and enchanting countenance to distract us from the tragedy that’s befallen her. The scenes of suspense that transpire the minutes we are descended from Susie’s utopia are another matter…

Peter Jackson does a tremendous job creating immense tension with the murder mystery aspect of Susie’s story. Scenes such as the one shared by the killer and detective (The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli), as well as another in which Susie’s suspicious sister rummages around the killer’s house, nearly caused me to crack the cup holders with my nervous gripping.

Jackson’s digitally rendered world falls flat as a superfluously grandiose and unoriginal depiction of what readers of Ms. Sebold’s novel did well to imagine and conjure independently, sans glitzy CGI technology. As a story, the film lumbers along, swerving conspicuously from lightheartedness to fretfulness, from euphoria to anguish. This is partly due to the movie’s unsuccessful treatment of numerous genres, ranging from serial-killer mystery to teenage melodrama. Too many directions and not enough focus will leave most viewers sitting in limbo.

2 stars out of 5