The Lovely Bones.

I recently watched Peter Jackson’s film of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones.  I’ve liked some of Peter Jackson’s films before (more Meet the Feebles than Lord of the Rings…) and I was intrigued by this film when I first heard about it, but kind of thought it might be too much of a thriller for my taste…  and it is, but incredibly so.

The film is set in Pennsylvania in 1973 and begins to tell the touching and heart-wrenching story of a sweet, and strangely beautiful fourteen year old girl, Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan).  This first part of the film is ephemeral and gauzy like the photographs Susie takes as an aspiring nature photographer.  The crux of the film is not that Susie is murdered (it gives that up on the back of the DVD case) but the struggle and resolution of what happens after.

This film is breathtaking.  Then terk-jerking.  Then absolutely horrifying as it runs the gamut of emotion.  Elements of the grotesque see-saw with images of utopia while many scenes that twist the stomach also please the eye.  For example, the bathroom scene where filth and blood exist in a highly-stylized and surreal white space.  (This scene reminded me a lot of Silent Hill.)  While chilling, the abstraction of this fervent drama evokes beauty and fantasy…  the best and the worst of it.

The entire film was thoughtfully made, from the perfect 1970’s styling and the attentive editing, to the wide and strange  palette of pieces this film is composed of.  For me, it was really Susan Sarandon.

(Images from IGN.com)