Jackson remains mostly faithful to the original work, at least in terms of plot: both take place in 1970s suburban Philadelphia and tell the story of the brutal murder of Susie Salmon ("like the fish") and the devastating consequences her family must face. The title refers to the once-close relationships that begin to deteriorate as the family searches desperately for Susie's bones. Her father becomes obsessed with tracking down the killer and her mother deals with the emotional fallout.
Perhaps most striking about the novel, but disappointingly half-baked in the film, is Sebold's creation of a heaven where Susie Salmon who serves as the novel's narrator can see everything that happens on earth, resulting in an effective third-person omniscient narration. Sebold's heaven prompts readers to consider the philosophical implications of an afterlife. The movie, however, focuses too much on the physical characteristics of the afterlife. Jackson conjures up a magical wonderland heaven full of visual effects, which ultimately adds nothing to the movie.
There is no doubt that Jackson tried to do the novel justice. It seems that he and screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens tried to include as much of the novel as possible in the movie, but ultimately had to face the truth that all adaptors must accept it is not possible to translate every event and convention of a novel to the screen. But instead of choosing the most important scenes and distilling the plot, the adaptation chooses to ignore the issue of cutting content. The decision to jam-pack the film's 135 minutes with as many plot points from the book as possible ultimately causes the film to fall flat. Jackson does not linger on any incident long enough to allow much emotional resonance to develop.
Further, the movie does not flow well. Scenes cut from one to another with poorly devised transitions. The root of the problem appears again to be in this all-inclusive approach to the adaptation. Scenes are cramped together, and the barrage of thoughts and events results in information overload, instead of a rich and detailed movie.
This is not to say that the film is all bad. In what seems like a consolation prize for audiences, "The Lovely Bones" boasts a marvelous cast: Saoirse Ronan as the childish and curious Susie, Mark Wahlberg as her grieving father and Rachel Weisz as Susie's drug-addict mother. Susan Sarandon also makes an appearance as Susie's grandmother, an alcoholic, who adds a brief touch of humor to the predominantly grim movie.
And finally, Stanley Tucci is hauntingly unforgettable as Susie's killer George Harvey, the oddly reclusive, sad-looking neighbor with an ugly comb-over unsuspecting but terrifying in every scene. From the beginning of the movie, Tucci does a marvelous job radiating sinister vibes. The tension Tucci creates on the screen lingers throughout the movie and is perhaps the only aspect of the movie with any significant emotional dimension. The audience knows the answer to the murder is painfully close, even though none of the characters can put the pieces together.
The film also features some rather impressive visual effects, resulting in a plethora of beautiful screenshots to grace the movie's promos. On one hand, the eye candy usefully distracts from the film's shortcomings. Yet on the other, it also serves to distract from the emotional foundation of Sebold's novel and raises the question of what sort of movie "The Lovely Bones" might have been had the focus been on story rather than visual experience.
The good acting and aesthetics, however, cannot save the film from its failures of content. Jackson, in his effort to capture the novel in its entirety, takes on the burden of its structure but loses the substance: the humanity of the original novel. Despite skillful performances, the sorrow surrounding Susie's death too often comes off as insincere.
Jackson known for "King Kong" (2005) and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-2003) is a master of artful direction. "The Lovely Bones," however, is a story built mostly on human emotion, not creative imagery. For those who want a work of art, "The Lovely Bones" is a must-watch. Those looking for emotional engagement, however, will be thoroughly disappointed.
