Death is a funny thing. Well, not really. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the way people, living people, think about death may not leave you with the best taste in your mouth for what your thoughts might be on the subject. I do not mean this in a suicidal way, but from a creative stand point. Take film and literature. Storytellers in both mediums have been telling various stories about life and death for hundreds of years. We have stories about the after life, stories about those places in between, stories about hell, and some that just leave us scratching our heads. Over the last month, I myself have been considering death and what that experience might be like. I recently finished a book I have been working on, and my main character has to go through that very experience. I have read many versions of what death is like for things like supernatural creatures such as vampires. We of course are in a vampire whirl wind romance at the moment and love reading and watching what it is like for that specific creature to go through, and if we are lucky enough to be shown what their death was like sometimes we can catch a glimps of what the author finds important or interesting about living. At least that seems to be where my thinking currently stands. But what happens when we write about "real people" and death. Murder mysteries, serial killer stories, thrillers, and things of that nature. What happens when we take away the supernatural and fantasy? What are we left with then? Truth -- Unknown....
The Lovely Bones is ultimately the story of a young girl that is murdered, and her time spent in "the in-between" from the time of her death until the point at which she lets go of her earthly ties. I have not read the book and although the story is compelling, I walked out of the theater confused. I couldn't quite figure out what it was I had just watched. I understood the concepts and storylines, but the "in-between" left me with a odd after taste in my mouth that I just couldn't seem to get rid of.
Having a director with such an amazing reputation, I am not sure if it was simply because it did not feel like a "typical" Peter Jackson film, or if because I had not read the novel that there was something missing that the film adaptation just could not grasp. Visually the film was amazing. The "blue horizon" where our main character is telling the story from truly is a place of beauty that would put any haven to shame. However, the merging of the worlds was hard for me to follow. I kept getting distracted by my own wondering thoughts and ideas, that her "in-between" no longer felt realistic for me. Maybe I had gone into the film expecting something, and not having those expectations fulfilled has left me with a sour taste for this film. Or maybe there was just too much for me to feel comfortable with.
The story that takes place in real time and real space was by far my favorite part of the film. You would have edited the entire "heaven" concept out of the story and The Lovely Bones would stand strong on its own two feet. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Stanley Tucci drive the ball out of the park the entire 135 minutes of the film. Even Rose McIver, who plays Lindsay the main character's younger sister, gave a great performance. I could not stop myself from cringing when she took it upon herself to find the proof that the cops had given up on that would finally put away her sister's murderer. And since I do not want to give away too much of the story I will say that the end of the film will leave you with a feeling as though your skin is crawling. But it would not be fair if I were to leave out Saoirse Ronan. She gives a great performance and my heart went out to her each time she appeared on screen. I just would have been happier if the film had kept her naration for her story, but left the film in real time and real space. The "in-between" or heaven that was portrayed for me just did not leave me believing.
All in all, the film was about a 3 out of 5 stars in my opinion. Peter Jackson, you better deliver the next time around.
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