Based on Alice Sebold's bestselling novel, The Lovely Bones is about 14-year old Susie Salmon, played by Oscar Best Supporting Actress nominee Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), who has been killed but isn't ready to go to heaven yet. Instead, she haplessly watches over her father Jack, played by Oscar Best Supporting Actor nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), her mother Abigail, played by Oscar Best Supporting Actress winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), her sister Lindsay (Rose McIver), and her murderer from limbo, where she works out her strong need for revenge and for her family to recover from her death.
Joining the powerhouse cast is Stanley Tucci, who is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the creepy George Harvey, while Oscar Best Actress winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) lends oddly out-of-place comic relief as Grandma Lynn.
It was a surprise that Oscar winning director Peter Jackson (LOTR trilogy, King Kong, District 9) took on this family drama, but it's an unpleasant one (perhaps he's taking a break from his sci-fi films?). No doubt the cast and crew are all talented but I believe he ruined the story with the oppressive, uncalled for CGI. The surreal special effects were unnecessary and did not help the story at all, jarring whatever emotions the characters have tried to evoke from the audience. The story is better told in its raw state. I have not read the critically-acclaimed book but I can imagine how its readers must be cringing from its movie reincarnation. It just didn't feel right.
Joining the powerhouse cast is Stanley Tucci, who is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the creepy George Harvey, while Oscar Best Actress winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) lends oddly out-of-place comic relief as Grandma Lynn.
It was a surprise that Oscar winning director Peter Jackson (LOTR trilogy, King Kong, District 9) took on this family drama, but it's an unpleasant one (perhaps he's taking a break from his sci-fi films?). No doubt the cast and crew are all talented but I believe he ruined the story with the oppressive, uncalled for CGI. The surreal special effects were unnecessary and did not help the story at all, jarring whatever emotions the characters have tried to evoke from the audience. The story is better told in its raw state. I have not read the critically-acclaimed book but I can imagine how its readers must be cringing from its movie reincarnation. It just didn't feel right.