The Lovely Bones: Novel to...Film?

Anyone who has read this amazing novel can agree with the fact that the film has been stripped of the many riches that populated novel. Watching The Lovely Bones wasn't an unpleasant experience, but more of a disappointing one. Alice Sebold has this incredibly unique vision and all I wanted was for most of it to be rightfully translated to the screen. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

With that said though, the first 30 minutes of the movie were extraordinary and definitely made me feel I was watching a perfect adaptation of the novel. Pinpointing certain memories from Susie Salmon's mind was a great touch and really helped us get to know what kind of girl she was. Whether it be saving her little brother's life by driving him to the hospital, taking as many photos as she could, discussing with Grandma the boy she has a crush on, or almost landing her first kiss with that said boy, all of these memories detailed the incredible girl that we would stay with throughout the movie.

Everything is dynamite in this first section of the film. The art direction and costume design perfectly capture the feel of the 70's and the cinematography is glorious to look at. Saoirse Ronan deserves the biggest heap of praise because she brings Susie Salmon to life. I don't think I could picture anyone else in the role. With her face so expressive, she was able to convey everything Susie felt throughout her whole body with just one look. Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg are perfect as Abigail and Jack, providing loveable, but tough parents who definitely have family placed in their hearts. Susan Sarandon is a hoot in the scenes trying to push Susie to make a move on the boy she likes.

As the first 30 minutes comes to a close, the inevitable has to come with it too: Susie's murder. I'm glad that Peter Jackson decided to opt out of filming a rape scene, because I don't think it would've gone over too well. But with said I still think that mention of her being raped should have been present in the film. Yes it's brutal, but that's what the novel was about. A brutal act happening to this innocent girl and the toll it takes on her in the afterlife and the people she loves on Earth. The confrontation scene with Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci) and Susie is perfect and both play it very well. The mix of happiness, wonder, confusion and then ultimately fear on her face is heartbreaking, because you do not want her to endure this horrible act and pass away.

As soon as the scene where Susie enters George Harvey's bloody bathroom ends, is where the movie starts to go downhill and severely betray the novel. [SPOILERS] First of all, they found Susie's elbow, along with her toque, and that's what alerted Detective Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) that she was murdered. That scene in the book and the film always leave me with tears in my eyes and Weisz and Wahlberg play it amazingly. I would have liked to have seen Abigail engage in her affair with Fenerman because it was a vital part in making Abigail decide to leave her family. She just couldn't take her life anymore, so she had to leave, start an affair and then just leave her life altogether. Also, Rachel Weisz would have gotten a lot more to work with and it would've made her performance feel more complete.

Mark Wahlberg also could've gotten a lot more stride if he had been provided with more material. The scene where he thinks George Harvey is in the cornfield covering up evidence is all good and dandy, but he also has a heart attack and has more confrontation with Fenerman that would have beefed up the proceedings.

One of the most tragic mistakes made is the handling of the Grandma Lynn character. As I said earlier, in the scenes of the first 30 minutes, Susan Sarandon is a hoot. But later she kind of becomes a burden and that is ABSOLUTELY NOT the character of Grandma Lynn. Turning her into a characiture is a horrendous act and completely demeans the substance she has in the novel.

The fact that they had to basically smush everything together at the very end just made me lose more love in the film. To make it seem as if Abigail came back as soon as Lindsey (Rose McIver) escapes from Mr. Harvey's house with her life almost not intact, seems like cheating. And the fact that they forget the evidence that Lindsey brings back from Mr. Harvey's house is even more aggravating! In the book more evidence is found that links Mr. Harvey to Susie's murder (a charm and a Coke bottle) and the film doesn't even acknowledge it! The transference scene between Ruth (Carolyn Dando) and Susie was so beautiful in the novel, but is so quick and unimaginitve in the film. Ray and her were sharing this special experience and in the film it felt worthless. Speaking of Ray and Ruth, they aren't even explored! I wanted to see Ruana and see what she was like! Nope, doesn't happen. I wanted to see Ruth and the exploration of herself and her relationship with Ray after Susie brushes by her. I wanted to see Ruth grown up and on her own as well. Towards the end of the novel it explores Lindsey grown up and together with her boyfriend Sam. It shows her pregnant with her first child. There is all but one scene showing that she is pregnant and then, pfft, that's it. Even Mr. Harvey's death is a tab bit overexaggerated. Instead of leaving it to the imagination when he gets hit by the icicle and falls off the side of the hill, the film shows Mr. Harvey's violent descent. While it kind of is more gratifying, I liked the novels approach of leaving it to our imagination to figure out what happened.



It may seem like I`m being very harsh on this movie, and it`s only because this book is definitely the best book I`ve read in my life and to see it kind of savaged in movie form is a bit upsetting. I expected Peter Jackson to treat it delicately, but he kind of went overboard. I think Susie`s heaven scenes deserve to be fantastical and I think they do look amazing all CGI`d and maybe that`s what heaven should be portrayed as. This glorious place where we have the opportunity to be at peace.

And as harsh a grade as this movie seems to deserve, I can`t be that harsh on it because my love of the book overpowers my love of the movie. Plus, the first 30 minutes are breathtaking and definitely worth the look. Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci definitley deserve the praise they have been receiving. However, I think after you have read the novel, just watch the first 30 minutes :)

The movie: B+, the book: A+