Jackson film not as good as book, doesn't reach potential
Film pick of the week: "The Lovely Bones"
By Michael Chiapinni
Issue date: 1/22/10 Section: Focus
Peter Jackson's (Lord of the Rings trilogy, "King Kong") films are often visually striking and aesthetically pleasing. They're also often vapid and lack character development and a coherent plot. The Lovely Bones is no exception.
Adapted from Alice Sebold's haunting novel, the film follows 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) from her brutal rape and murder to a surreal heaven where she watches her family fall apart without her.
She is torn between staying and watching or moving on in the afterlife. She watches as her mother (Rachel Weisz) becomes disillusioned with her marriage, her father (Mark Wahlberg) become obsessed with solving her case while her murderer (Stanley Tucci) lives quietly next door.
Jackson and his screenwriters managed to keep the plot as close to the novel as they could, though the film is nothing like the book. I hate to say that, because it's an essentially useless statement: Those who enjoy reading books know the movie is never as good, and those who don't enjoy reading likely don't care.
But this is incredibly important in this film. Jackson manages to take a story about rape and murder and turn it into a special effects spectacle about revenge. The glaring omission of sexual violence in this film isn't so lovely.
Susie's neighbor and murderer, Mr. Harvey, lures her into a structure he built underground in a cornfield as she walks home from school. It's here, 15 minutes into the film, that Susie will leave suburbia and enter her version of heaven.
I admit this scene is wrought with tension and skillful cinematography that makes one feel as trapped as Susie. But the audience is shortly taken away from the scene and the imagination is left to its own devices. Never once is the word rape used, alluded to, or even symbolically shown. Susie becomes a murdered girl.
I understand this was likely done in an attempt to garner a PG-13 rating and make the film palatable to audiences, yet it's still disturbing. It speaks volumes about our culture: One would rather watch a sensationalized revenge story than deal with any real issues.
Adapted from Alice Sebold's haunting novel, the film follows 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) from her brutal rape and murder to a surreal heaven where she watches her family fall apart without her.
She is torn between staying and watching or moving on in the afterlife. She watches as her mother (Rachel Weisz) becomes disillusioned with her marriage, her father (Mark Wahlberg) become obsessed with solving her case while her murderer (Stanley Tucci) lives quietly next door.
Jackson and his screenwriters managed to keep the plot as close to the novel as they could, though the film is nothing like the book. I hate to say that, because it's an essentially useless statement: Those who enjoy reading books know the movie is never as good, and those who don't enjoy reading likely don't care.
But this is incredibly important in this film. Jackson manages to take a story about rape and murder and turn it into a special effects spectacle about revenge. The glaring omission of sexual violence in this film isn't so lovely.
Susie's neighbor and murderer, Mr. Harvey, lures her into a structure he built underground in a cornfield as she walks home from school. It's here, 15 minutes into the film, that Susie will leave suburbia and enter her version of heaven.
I admit this scene is wrought with tension and skillful cinematography that makes one feel as trapped as Susie. But the audience is shortly taken away from the scene and the imagination is left to its own devices. Never once is the word rape used, alluded to, or even symbolically shown. Susie becomes a murdered girl.
I understand this was likely done in an attempt to garner a PG-13 rating and make the film palatable to audiences, yet it's still disturbing. It speaks volumes about our culture: One would rather watch a sensationalized revenge story than deal with any real issues.
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Moving Pods
posted 2/24/10 @ 2:32 PM EST
I think that she has a big problem with not moving on with her afterlife. I think Peter Jackson did a decent job in representing this book.
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