THE LOVELY BONES

Drama\Fantasy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Saoirse Ronan: 14-year-old Susie Salmon
Mark Wahlberg: her father Jack
Rachel Weisz: her mother Abigail
Rose McIver: Susie’s younger sister Lindsey
Christian Ashdale: Susie’s younger brother Buckley
Susan Sarandon: Susie’s grandmother Lynn
Reece Ritchie: Susie’s boyfriend Ray Singh
Stanley Tucci: the Salmon’s next door neighbour George Harvey
Michael Imperioli: Police Detective Len Fenerman
Nikki SooHoo: 7-year-old Holly

REVIEW
First, the good things about this film:
1. Stanley Tucci really nails the role as George Harvey.
2. The special effects are first-rate.

Now, the not so good stuff:
1. The running time is two hours and 15 minutes but doesn’t have to be since there are quite a few scenes that are either repetitive or simply go on forever. Although the film editor might have exercised his prerogative and done something about that, the fact that Peter Jackson as Director, Producer and Screenwriter no doubt had a lot to say about what got cut, if anything.
2. Some of the performances lack credibility, notably by Susan Saradon.
3. The principal focus is not on the down to earth storyline but on some fanciful place. Just when things get going, there is an interlude of visual images that puts a stop to the narrative. Very disconcerting.

CLASSIFICATION
for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.