At the Movies with Fatwayne

This is a good movie but one that moves at a snail’s pace. This sets one up for periods of tedium despite a most riveting story. The film’s running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes and, in my opinion, could have been better served by trimming it to ninety minutes.

I did not read the novel by Alice Sebold and so can not attest to whether the film is true to the book. I can say to you that this is a very different kind of story. Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is 14 years old and full of fun and life when she becomes the victim of a serial killer. The rest of the movie is presented from her viewpoint as the spirit of the girl who is somewhere between Heaven and Earth. She is not ready to move on yet and so keeps watch over her family and her killer. She must ultimately decide upon her desire for vengeance versus her desire for her family to heal.

The scenes of “heaven” are most intriguing and darn right beautiful. The scenery seems to shift with Susie’s mood swings and can range from magical to almost sinister but always mesmerizing. It takes Susie a while to come to the realization of her predicament and to make the decision as to what is best for her and her family.

It is a moving film and one that makes you want to take extra special care of your children or even grandchildren. It is heartbreaking to witness the separation and grief that Susie’s family endures as a result of her murder. Mark Wahlberg plays Jack Salmon and, along with his wife, Abigail (Rachel Weisz) have a most difficult time coping with their loss. The family is rounded out with the younger sister, Lindsey (Rose McIver), Buckley (Christian Ashdale) the baby brother and Susan Sarandon as Grandma Lynn.

Sarandon is supposed to provide what little comic relief there is but she comes off as a pathetic bad example of how not to be a grandparent. She is a chain smoker who drinks constantly and is a very real threat to burn down the house! She does offer some guidance and hard love in an effort to keep the family together.

I don’t think that I will be giving away too much when I tell you about Stanley Tucci, the neighbor of the Salmons. If you have seen the trailer then you know about him. I can tell you that he plays an intelligent but unbalanced sexual predator. He positively reeks creepiness! It is dreadful to see him use his wiles to lure his young victims into his web. This speaks well for his fine acting talents.

Thankfully, due to the nature of the story, there are no explicit depictions of violence. If there had been, I would in no way recommend it to you. Since this is not the case I will go ahead and tell you that you could do far worse than viewing this movie.

Quotes from The Lovely Bones

Rated  – PG13  -

Fatwayne’s Rating   -      -