Movie Review: The Lovely Bones

Tonight the movie up for review is "The Lovely Bones". I've been waiting a long time to watch this movie. When I seen the previews for this movie when it came out I thought it looked really good. On top of that, I've heard the book was excellent! Well, regretably...I never read the book, but I have a feeling this is one of those books that should have never been turned into a movie. I've also heard many people that have indeed read the book say that they were horribly disappointed by the movie. Anyways, on with the review....


A 14-year-old girl is murdered by a pedophile on her way home from school," not quite the feel-good film of the year. It borrows elements from "Ghost" and "Our Town," and throws them into a colorful world of razzle-dazzle like the one in "What Dreams May Come." Set in 1973, "The Lovely Bones" follows Susie Salmon ("Atonement's" Saoirse Ronan) before and after her forced exit from the planet. She's a regular girl -- fond of taking countless photographs, embarrassed by the knitted winter hat her mom makes her wear, and smitten with a curly-haired senior whom she hopes to give her, her first kiss.

On Susie's way home to dinner, a creepy neighbor lures her into his secret chamber in the ground, in the middle of a freaking cornfield, telling her to check it out because he built it for the neighborhood kids to play in as a club house. Her life ends there. Ruth, the girl next door, has a strange connection to the deceased and can tell she is occupying the "in-between," another way to describe purgatory. Susie doesn't feel ready to move on to heaven until she can help her family track down her killer, "the solitary man who lives in the green house." Her distraught father in particular is nowhere near ready to let go.

"The Lovely Bones" is a sort of fantastical, sentimental horror movie, which left me both sad to the point of tears and deeply queasy. Susan Sarandon's comedic role helps to ease the trauma of it all, as does seeing "The Soprano's" Christopher (Michael Imperioli) on the other side of the law, playing a detective. But like a shot of wheatgrass, this film doesn't go down easy.

"The Lovely Bones" is not for the faint of heart, but there's a good chance it will make yours hurt a bit. That and you'll want to hug everyone you love for just a few extra moments. All in all, I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. I think I'd recommend you read the book instead of watch the movie.