The Lovely Bones

Adapted from Alice Sebold’s best-seller, The Lovely Bones follows teenager Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) as she, from a heavenly locale known as the “In-Between,” keeps a watchful eye on her family and friends after being raped and murdered by a neighbor (Stanley Tucci’s George Harvey). There’s little doubt that The Lovely Bones gets off to an awfully rocky start, as director Peter Jackson – working from a script cowritten with Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh – offers up a relentlessly shifting perspective, as he cuts between Susie’s exploits in the In-Between and her loved ones’ efforts at both moving on and solving her murder, that results in a lack of momentum that initially (and effectively) prevents the viewer from wholeheartedly connecting with the material. It’s only as the movie progresses that Jackson begins to find an appropriate balance between the narrative’s two extremes, with the increasingly engaging atmosphere perpetuated by the superb performances and seriously striking visuals. In terms of the latter, Jackson, in his ongoing efforts at depicting the In-Between, has infused the proceedings with an immersive, eye-popping visual sensibility that translates into an indelibly unique cinematic experience, although it’s certainly worth noting that the filmmaker also does a superb job of ensuring that the story’s emotional quotient escalates considerably as the film unfolds (thus ensuring that the conclusion is almost devastating in its impact). The final result is an admittedly uneven yet utterly engaging piece of work that outshines its literary predecessor in every way, and marks the first time that Jackson has seamlessly blended special effects with dramatic content.

**** out of ****