THE LOVELY BONES (USA/UK/New Zealand 2009) ***
Directed by Peter Jackson

THE LOVELY BONES, based on the novel of the same name by Alice Sebold gets a full blown Hollywood adaptation by LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy director Peter Jackson.

The story is simple enough.  Young Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan from ATONEMENT) is murdered by her neighbour, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). In her in-between heaven, she observes the events affecting her family, friends and her killer.  The main point is her struggle to balance the hate she bears for Mr. Harvey and letting it go to aid her family move on with their lives.

Though the premise is simple, the story takes many turns looking at different points of view from the characters.  The father, Jack for one (Mark Wahlberg) is paranoid in the search for his daughter’s killer, feeling the guilt that he had done nothing to prevent the tragedy.  Mother (Rachel Weisz) leaves.  Her siblings cope with the parents’ separation while facing their own problems.  A novel can take its time to tell a story with twists and turns but unfortunately a film does not enjoy this liberty.  Though Jackson’s film does not feel rushed – in fact, it moves really slowly – one realizes that he is putting more into the film as characters develop and incidents occur, like the murder investigation.  Still, Jackson’s film is too glossy with an overload on special effects with the result of a lack in real raw human emotions.  The paranoia, for example that Jack feels is only manifested only in the smashing of his collectibles.  Jackson is not a director known for his emotional films but for his imagination.  He provides more than sufficient though CGI, especially during Susie’s heaven scenes.

Jackson’s film is very tame for a film about a serial killer.  In Sebold’s book, Susie is raped, dismembered with her body parts put in a safe.  Nothing is mentioned of a rape though it can be argued that it is implied in a dream sequence.

Jackson’s film moves masterly during the first half before Susie is killed.  The voiceover, dark humour (Susie claims in voiceover that she is going to be murdered) and simplicity are entertaining and impressive.  But the film goes downhill as incident after incident is added after, with the script concentrating on new characters after.  One feels as if the film is shifted its focus and lost its goal in the process.

Unsurprisingly, the best thing about Jackson’s film is his use of images – and not the CGI/special effect ones.  The shadow of the lonely serial killer sitting on a chair in a darkened basement; the face of a victim sliding beneath the water and the figure or a monster standing at the door on the top of the basement stairs are arresting images. 

Jackson’s film soars when he deals with the darker themes of the story.  The metaphor of the penguin trapped in a perfect world is creepy and unforgettable.  His play with the identity of the killer and Susie’s bracelet builds good suspense.  Hitchcock always said that it is good filmmaking to let the identity of the killer be known early – as there can be much suspense built once one knows the killer.

Despite the flaws of THE LOVELY BONES, one must hand it to Jackson for making an extremely charming fantasy based on a morbid topic.  But one can only guess how much better THE LOVELY BONES might have turned out if Jackson went the other way.