Director: Peter Jackson
Studio(s): Film 4 Productions & WingNut Films.
Distribution: Paramount Pictures & DreamWorks Pictures.
Run Time: 135 mins.
Rating: 6/10
I was naturally excited about the release of The Lovely Bones. The book was a poetic yet emotional roller coaster and I was looking forward to how this was going to be portrayed on the big screen. However as with most books that are made into films, I left the cinema disappointed at the result.
During the transition from Alice Sebold's novel to the big screen, it appears that the narrative was lost to the gore of the kill, and the subsequent CGI representations of limbo. The swirling colours and blurring lines of reality became hard to follow as the movie progressed, not made any easier by the confused teenage narration of the protagonist.
However the emotional turmoil of Susie Salmon's 14-year-old mind was not sacrificed. I am known as a bit of a crier at a tense moment, and I did not let my companions down. The grief of the Salmon family was both gripping and hard to watch, and I found myself willing her family to get justice for her.
This did not do anything to take the edge of my disappointment of the portrayal of the after life, which I felt was destroyed by the computer generated effects. Susie's heaven became something more fitting to a sci-fi than a drama, and I feel this took the edge of its effect.
I did not find the novel frightening or tense in the way the movie pretended to be. The glory of the narrative was the connection between Suzie and her family after her life was stolen away from her, it was not the act and disposal of her body. I feel that the demand for blood, gore and tension destroyed the factors that made the novel outstanding.
I’m sorry to rate it just a 6/10!!
Rie xxxx
I couldn't agree more with this Rie. I have not managed to read the book yet but i found the way her afterlife was portrayed in the film really confusing and had you not already explained to me the general plot prior to seeing the film, i think the supposed connections between Susie and her familly after her death would have been lost on me in the film.
ReplyDeleteI really rather enjoyed this film. It was such a fantastic idea for a plot and I think the actors were all really well chosen!
ReplyDeleteHowever... I didn't like the wishy-washyness of the halfway world. It seemed so ridiculous. I think it would have been much better to have dulled that down and focussed on the main storyline more.
However, I really loved the way that the other murders were portrayed in that house. That was the only bit of the halfway world that I liked.
His demise at the end was a bit too graphic for my liking though... But oh well. The bumhead got what he deserved. Good on ya icicle!!
xxxx
Thankss for a great read
ReplyDelete