Are the ‘Bones’ really that ‘Lovely’?

Saoirse Ronan explores heaven in ‘The Lovely Bones’

The story: The Lovely Bones is about a 14-year-old girl who watches over her family from heaven after getting brutally murdered by a neighbor.

Is the book better? I read Alice Sebold’s novel a couple of years ago and it is better. Even so, I look at these movie adaptations as a different creature.

One big happy family: Saoirse Ronan (her name is pronounced exactly how it looks) gleams as the innocent Susie Salmon. Her family is the picture-perfect family of the bell-bottomed ‘70s. Mark Wahlberg plays Jack Salmon and Rachel Weisz fills in the shoes of her mom, Abigail. Susan Sarandon is the cherry on top as the eccentric smoke-like-a-chimney-drink-like-a-fish Grandma Lynn – but she does have a heart of gold. Rounding out the fam is Rose McIver as Lindsey Salmon and Christian Thomas Ashdale as Buckley Salmon.

What I didn’t like: Wahlberg does a decent job as the obsessive father who will stop at nothing to find his daughter’s killer and Weisz does the same as the disconnected mother – but rather than strongly support the story, their characters fade.

What I liked: The story. The book gives an intense story about a family in crisis and movie interprets it decently. To a certain extent, you feel the anticipation and urgency in wanting to punish this killer. You want him to get caught and you want him to suffer for what he did. Speaking of, Stanely Tucci is haunting as the murderous next-door neighbor, George Harvey. The word creepy does not do justice to his portrayal of this inhumane monster of a man. From his eerie handling of a jewelry charm to his quiet gaze of menace, he is villainous and convincing.

Honorable mention: I’d love to have a Grandma Lynn in my life.

Was that really heaven? I didn’t get Peter Jackson’s portrayal of heaven. It was like a toy box rather than serene and angelic. There was a definite disconnect that just didn’t make sense. Yes, I understand that heaven is up to different interpretations, but I just didn’t dig this.

Reece Ritchie is dreamy: In the short time Susie is “alive” on screen, she charms the audience – especially with her short-lived romance with her crush on the dreamy Ray Singh (Ritchie). It made me giddy like a school girl.

Cry factor? During emotionally heavy movies, crying tends to be like yawning. When you see someone else does it, you are inclined to do the same. The girl sitting next to me in the theater started crying during certain tear-jerking parts. I almost followed her lead until she started making out with her boyfriend. Then I just vomited.

Overall review: I didn’t hate it. As much as I hate comparing a film to its literary source – there was so much in the book that I wanted in the movie. What I saw onscreen was nothing I visualized in my head. Grade: C+