What do you do when you make the most critically adored, highest grossing trilogy of all time? Pretty much whatever you want! That has been the case with Peter Jackson who, since ruling the world with the ‘Rings’ trilogy, has brought us the bold-but-flawed ‘King Kong’, as well as producing ‘District 9’. But before he goes off to produce both ‘The Hobbit’ and Steven Spielberg’s ‘TinTin’ movie, he brings us his second directorial effort ‘post-Rings’, the adaptation of Alice Sebold’s ‘The Lovely Bones.’
Susie (Saoirse Ronan) is a normal 14-year-old girl living in the 1970’s, until she is savagely murdered by her neighbour George (Stanley Tucci). Watching from heaven, she sees her family torn apart by grief- her father (Mark Wahlberg) obsessed with finding the killer, her mother (Rachel Weisz) bottling her emotion, and her grandmother (Susan Sarandon) trying to keep the house together in her own unconventional way. As the search goes on, Susie must decide whether it is more important to avenge her death or allow her family to move on with their lives.
The main element of the plot holding the film back is the ‘heaven’ sequences which, despite Ronan’s best efforts, generally feel unnecessary. Jackson’s visuals are flawless, but we are given whole scenes that don’t seem to have anything to do with the plot and eventually take away from an otherwise engaging climax. That said, back on Earth the film moves along well, with Jackson bringing tension that will have your heart racing. Indeed, the drama of seeing the family deal with the loss of Susie combined with the search for her killer could have made for a fine film on it’s own, and is the main strength of the film.
The performances are a mixed bag- Weisz’s role is too limited to carve out a performance; Sarandon is a lot of fun as the raucous grandma, but is used sparingly. Wahlberg, as ever, is solid without being remarkable- there’s nothing wrong with his portrayal of a broken father, it’s just hard to pick any scenes where he really stands out. Ronan carries the film well, despite being in a whirlpool of CGI for the majority, and delivers a tender performance without being corny. Stanley Tucci, so long a hidden gem wandering American independent scene, is a revelation. As George, he creates a vile, abhorrent character that makes your stomach turn every time he’s on camera. A tough role executed brilliantly, you’ll hate him, but then again that’s the point.
Overall an emotive, affecting film that is bolstered by amazing performances from Tucci and Ronan in particular, but a stodgy mid-section and hit-and-miss psychedelica stop it from being truly great. It was always a hard task to adapt such a book, but it’s testament to Jackson’s talents that not only can he achieve this, he can produce a film that stays with you after leaving the cinema as well.
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