The Lovely Bones

I saw this a few days ago and being bedridden, I now have the time to write the review. Also, I think this is the kind of film you need to think about before saying anything.

I know there is quite a lot of hype around this film and having read a review or two before seeing it I was somewhat unsure what to expect. The trouble was that I was expecting a serious and deep film, but what I got was more cartoony and "trippy" than I would ever have expected.

Those of you, who have read the book ignore this, but those who have the reading ability of a shortsighted walrus, like myself, the film is about a teenaged girl in the 70s who is raped and killed. Nothing new here, huh. However, the story takes an interesting twist as the story is told from her perspective as she watches over her parents trying to find the killer. When I was told this, I was expecting something along the lines of Taken, an amazing film by the way. Yet, The Lovely Bones adopts a completely new approach, which is a mixture of the feelings of Susie, the victim, and those of her parents. It is a story of how a little girl overcomes personal trauma and the feelings of detest towards her killer/rapist and how a family fights the turmoil of losing a sister, a daughter.

The acting leaves something to be wished for, my opinion on this being mainly influenced by Mark Wahlberg having the same ability to act different characters as a dead donkey. Not to be harsh towards the man, but I can't really say he is versatile and watching him in The Lovely Bones was like watching Max Payne all over again. There is something about these roles that suits him so well, but looking at the bigger picture, I sadly can't appreciate him as an A-list actor.

I also failed to appreciate the CG scenes of Susie in the in-betweeny bit, leaving earth but not reaching heaven yet. I think the concept of telling the story from the victim's perspective is an interesting touch, but the surreal scenes quickly lost their appeal and became more of a distraction and left me craving a more realistic film.

Unconventionally, the killer's identity is revealed as the crime is committed and the viewer has the difficult task of not shouting out how much they hate him and how creepy he looks - all to the credit of Stanley Tucci who definitely was the bright spot of the cast.

At the end of the day - would I recommend it? Yes, I would. But I find it difficult to pin down the reason for this. It isn't a brilliant film, the acting isn't particularly good and it doesn't really deliver much cinematic value. Then again, I'm wrong here and it does have value, but not to the potential the plot offers and thus, not even having read the book, but having discussed this with people who have, I can tell the film is a bit of a failure. And the book remains superior to the film, long live the written word.