Director/co-writer Peter Jacksons attempts to create a compelling mix of murder mystery and fantasy with The Lovely Bones. Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a 14 year old with the normal problems of a 14 year old girl. She's confused by boys, gets embarrassed by her parents (Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz) and dreams of bigger things than her 1970's small town upbringing will likely allow. Oh yeah she's got an unusual problem as well. She's dead, having been murdered by her neighbor (Stanley Tucci). The movie deals with Susie looking down on how her family copes with her death from the afterlife and the investigation into her murder.
The movie has a lot going for it. Jackson has obviously succeeded in the fantasy realm with The Lord of the Rings trilogy and his 1994 film Heavenly Creatures shows that he can create a moving story dealing with Teenage girls and reality as well. The movie is visually stunning, the scenes from the afterlife are great to look at and are full of imagination. Jackson adds a lot of cool camera flourishes that, at least standing on their own, look great. The cast is excellent as well. Ronan has a very tricky part to play and does an admirable job with her performance as well as supplying the voiceover work. Tucci was nominated for an well deserved Oscar for his performance as the neighbor who has a need to kill. Wahlberg and Weisz both get some moments to shine and while their performances are a mixed bad, when they are on they are fantastic. Susan Sarandon and Michael Imperioli also give excellent supporting performances as Salmon's grandmother and the cop in charge of the murder investigation.
I really wanted to like The Lovely Bones but in the end it just doesn't come together as a whole. The entire movie has a very disjointed feel. The tone shifts from grizzly murder, to happy fantasy, then to melodrama without warning. All the fancy camera work really doesn't add anything to the story and the movie drags on far too long. It's clear from the opening that Suzie is dead and the identity of her murderer is never in doubt. Having never read the book on which the movie is based, I don't know if that's how it was written but from a cinematic aspect it takes away any mystery from the murder mystery aspect and sucks a lot of potential tension out of the movie. The sudden changes in tone make it very hard to emotionally connect with any of the characters and by the end of the movie I had lost all interest in anything that was happening. Overall there's just too much of a disconnection from the different aspects of the film.
The blu-ray is technically amazing. The video transfer is beautiful. Colors are vibrant, detail is terrific and the overall image rates as close to perfection as it gets. The audio is great as well. The livelier scenes come alive and are very immersive with plenty of surround use. Low end is not a high priority or constant but at times it is very powerful. The quieter scenes are not as impressive but dialogue is always clear and accurate.
The Lovely Bones did not work for me as a cohesive story. That's not to say there aren't worthwhile moments because there are plenty but those moments never really come together. Anyone who can handle the sudden shifts in tone and the disjointed feel, has a very real possibility to enjoy it but ultimately the shortcomings are just too much to overcome.
Ratings
Movie: 2/5
Blu-ray: 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment