Review: Jackson fails to produce another movie masterpiece
Randy Moorhead
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Features
I confess myself a Peter Jackson fan. I adored his take on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and reveled in the gory campiness of "Dead Alive" (also known as "Braindead"). So when I discovered that Jackson was directing a film adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel, I was confident Jackson had a masterpiece to add to his impressive career. Walking out of the theater, I knew that my confidence had been, unfortunately, misplaced.
'The Lovely Bones' tells the story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who was murdered when she was 14 years old by her neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). The film, like the book, deals with Susie and her family coming to terms with her death as she watches over them, and her killer, from Heaven. However, unlike the book, the soulfulness and emotion that radiate from its pages are nowhere to be found here. Among the visual splendor that Jackson has become known for, the heart of the novel has disappeared.
However, the actors manage to bypass the questionable production and evoke wonderful performances. Saoirse Ronan is spectacular as Susie, managing to pull fully believable emotions out of thin air. Stanley Tucci, however, deserves the highest honors for his creepy portrayal of Harvey. And I really mean creepy. Tucci delivers a performance that's every bit mysterious as it is chilling. I even found Mark Wahlberg's portrayal of Jack Salmon to be somewhat decent.
The special effects are also to be praised. Susie's heaven is rendered beautifully and majestically. However, special effects are not the driving force of emotion. The imagery, in the end, clashes with the looming theme of the film. This leaves an uninspired film wrought with wasted acting. The film just never ended up touching me the way the novel managed to.
'The Lovely Bones' in the end turns out to be ruined potential. Jackson seemed to be aiming more for style rather than substance with this film. It wastes good acting and sacrifices emotion for imagery. Perhaps, Mr. Jackson, you should just stick with action films.
'The Lovely Bones' tells the story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who was murdered when she was 14 years old by her neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). The film, like the book, deals with Susie and her family coming to terms with her death as she watches over them, and her killer, from Heaven. However, unlike the book, the soulfulness and emotion that radiate from its pages are nowhere to be found here. Among the visual splendor that Jackson has become known for, the heart of the novel has disappeared.
However, the actors manage to bypass the questionable production and evoke wonderful performances. Saoirse Ronan is spectacular as Susie, managing to pull fully believable emotions out of thin air. Stanley Tucci, however, deserves the highest honors for his creepy portrayal of Harvey. And I really mean creepy. Tucci delivers a performance that's every bit mysterious as it is chilling. I even found Mark Wahlberg's portrayal of Jack Salmon to be somewhat decent.
The special effects are also to be praised. Susie's heaven is rendered beautifully and majestically. However, special effects are not the driving force of emotion. The imagery, in the end, clashes with the looming theme of the film. This leaves an uninspired film wrought with wasted acting. The film just never ended up touching me the way the novel managed to.
'The Lovely Bones' in the end turns out to be ruined potential. Jackson seemed to be aiming more for style rather than substance with this film. It wastes good acting and sacrifices emotion for imagery. Perhaps, Mr. Jackson, you should just stick with action films.
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