The Lovely Bones (2009)

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers (WGA):

Fran Walsh (screenplay) &
Philippa Boyens (screenplay) &
Peter Jackson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

The story of a life and everything that came after...

Plot:

Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Rape | Murder | Tree | Lost Love

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mark Wahlberg	...	Jack Salmon
Rachel Weisz	...	Abigail Salmon
Susan Sarandon	...	Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci	...	George Harvey
Michael Imperioli	...	Len Fenerman
Saoirse Ronan	...	Susie Salmon
Rose McIver	...	Lindsey Salmon
Christian Thomas Ashdale	...	Buckley Salmon (as Christian Ashdale)
Reece Ritchie	...	Ray Singh
Carolyn Dando	...	Ruth Connors
Nikki SooHoo	...	Holly
Andrew James Allen	...	Samuel Heckler
Jake Abel	...	Brian Nelson
Amanda Michalka	...	Clarissa (as AJ Michalka)
Thomas McCarthy	...	Principal Caden (as Tom McCarthy)

Also Known As:

"Lovely Bone" - Japan (English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA | UK | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45304) | Japan:G | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Norway:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A (re-rating on appeal) | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15A (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:13V | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Mexico:B | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U (with warning) | Malaysia:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Camperdown Studios, Camperdown Road, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

For his role as George Harvey, Stanley Tucci had his skin lightened, his chest and arm hair dyed to match his blondish-brown comb-over wig, and wore false teeth to alter his jaw line. He also wore blue contact lenses and a lentil-filled fat suit to widened his girth. All topped off with square-frame eyeglasses, a fake mustache and sideburns.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The first time Mr. Harvey makes the sketch of the underground room, the dimensions are 6'x6". This is corrected when we see the sketch later on.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Susie Salmon:[voiceover] I remember being really small; too small to see over the edge of a table. There was a snow globe, and I remember the penguin who lived inside the globe. He was all alone in there, and I worried for him.

Movie Connections:

References Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Soundtrack:

I Hear You Knockin'

A Skeleton In Peter Jackson's Closet

There is no way we can challenge Peter Jackson's creative and directorial abilities, however it is evident that even the greats can face an 'off-day'. The legendary touch that we saw in The Lord of the Rings series was sadly not present, as this in-depth tale was mishandled, juggled and dropped in a very unflattering manner - not what we expect from Mr Jackson and his team. The Lovely Bones is potentially a life changing story, but it is squeezed out poorly.

The story in itself is quite profound and disturbingly moving (the excellent writing ability of Alice Sebold), however the power is tragically lost amid the array of overly expanded scenes of Susie in the 'In-between'. The beautiful cinematography is stunning and creates an atmosphere, but the way in which it's fused together produces a disappointing patchwork. There are certainly some talents on display with Tucci truly creating a menacing presence, and Weisz's broken mother being entirely convincing. However, these roles are disparagingly lost in the cascade of drawn out and over-emphasised scenes of a CGI afterlife. Unfortunately, these bones are not so lovely.