The Lovely Bones
A case of what Peter Jackson did next here. Wingnut Productions has been plenty busy of late and this one hundred and eighty degree turn away from all things Hobbit-like was perhaps not the most obvious choice for Jackson, though still a recognisable nod that harks back to his early days and a penchant for visceral and gruesome horror flicks, even if The Lovely Bones falls into neither category all too comfortably.
Whilst all of the Oscar madness has been ensuing, The Lovely Bones has gone about its business in its own sweet way, and has yet to succumb to massive marketing hype in order to get its nominations, of which there may be at least a couple when the gongs are finally handed out at the start of March this year. Whether the Academy feels the film is good enough to make winners of those suspected nominations, is something else entirely.
Only Susan Sarandon has really been heard to mention anything on the subject of Oscar, suggesting that she would personally be very surprised if the film didn’t pick up at least one nomination for the performance of Saoirse Ronan, playing the part of the actual and then late Susie Salmon. This could easily be seen as partisan, or even worse, marketing bias, which is something I find surprising of Sarandon, if only for the reason that you would expect her to have risen above all that posturing by now.
This would only be the case of course, if Ronan was not indeed deserving of such a credit, so the real question of Sarandon’s ethics would be if Ronan was actually any good or not. Ronan, probably best known for her roles in City of Ember and Atonement is certainly shaping up to be a fine actress, but worthy of an Oscar? Not his time around I fear, though while she is engaging as a lost/dead/missing (delete as applicable) girl in this, she never really gives what can be called an Oscar winning performance. Simply a very good one, but never does she truly shine (at least not without the aid of some otherworldly and gratifyingly beautiful special FX).
Jackson takes the original work and almost does it justice, taking his audience on a regularly uncomfortable but no less intriguing trip first through Susie’s early teenagedom, as it was weaved together in a seventies patchwork of hazy Wonder Years flashbacks and old copies of The Bunty, through to her (can we call it) life in the spaces between time and space and her efforts to understand her own place in the grand scheme of things, with the aid, inevitably, of a initially mysterious but helpful guide in the guise of Holly.
Oddly for a cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, the support is excellent throughout. With the aforementioned Wahlberg playing the Susie’s father, who refuses to accept his loss. His reluctance is to everybody else’s benefit, bar one. That being George Harvey, Susie’s killer, played superbly by a barely recognisable Stanley Tucci, evil contact lenses included.
Completing the main ensemble is Rachel Weisz as often estranged (what would you expect) mother of the victim, who despite her loss, inexplicably disappears off to the country in an attempt to deal with it, leaving her two remaining children at home with her husband. The eldest of these two remaining children, Lindsey, is played by Rose McIver, who is given the opportunity to develop her role throughout the film and does a reasonably decent job of doing just that. Lindsey and George share the most knife-edge scene in the film, that when you watch it, will have you almost screaming at the screen.
Finally, Susan Sarandon plays Susie’s grandmother. Not one to look at, as she is about as conservative with her dress sense and her tongue as asking Paris Hilton to do the splits for a tenner on the cover of Rolling Stone. Quick-witted and happy to dispense a world-weary word of advice to anyone that is prepared to listen, Sarandon seems made for the role. Whether this is a compliment or not, I’m not yet quite sure.
In all, a formidable cast compiled for an adaptation of a very difficult story to film. A job not badly done in the least, by all accounts, and whilst not knocking on the door of the Academy (with good reason) it may get at least nominations, if not the awards, that Sarandon at least believes it deserves.
The Lovely Bones is release in the UK on
January 29th 2010
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