Susan Granger’s review of “The Lovely Bones” (Paramount Pictures)
If you read Alice Seabold’s 2002 best-seller, you know this is a ghost story, of sorts. On December 6, 1973, a suburban Pennsylvania teenager named Susie Salmon was brutally murdered by a perverted neighbor who turns out to be a serial killer. Shown from her dreamlike perspective in the afterlife, this is her sad, melancholy meditation.
14 year-old Susie (Saoirse Ronan from “Atonement”) had so much to look forward to. She wanted to be a wildlife photographer when she grew up. Most of all, she wanted to be kissed, preferably by handsome Ray Singh (Reece Ritchie). But all that ended when she was lured into an underground hideaway in a cornfield near her Norristown school by creepy George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), who had been stalking her. Unwilling to move on, Susie’s soul lingers, observing how her death affects her obsessive/compulsive father (Mark Wahlberg), anguished mother (Rachel Weitz), suspicious younger sister (Rose McIver), vulnerable brother (Christian Ashdale) and Ray Singh.
The afterlife concept isn’t a new one. It’s been done before, memorably by Robin Williams in “What Dreams May Come” and others. But not like this. Best known for his “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “King Kong,” New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson – aided by cinematographer Andrew Lesnie – drenches the screen with exquisite visual imagery of a celestial limbo. More often than not, however, the lush, otherworldly CGI wizardry overwhelms the fragile story, keeping the audience at an emotional distance, despite the intelligent adapted script by Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. And it’s certainly not the fault of the actors who deliver solid performances, particularly luminous Saorsie Ronan, almost unrecognizable Stanley Tucci and campy Susan Sarandon, who adds some much needed levity to the haunting drama.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lovely Bones” is a striking, surreal 7. But if you’re a parent, the tension is excruciating, as are Susie’s final words, “My name is Susie Salmon, like the fish. I was here for a moment, and then I was gone. I wish you all a happy life.”
