The Lovely Bones (2009)

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers (WGA):

Fran Walsh (screenplay) &
Philippa Boyens (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The story of a life and everything that came after...

Plot:

Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Afterlife | Rape | Dead Child | Funeral

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Jack Salmon
Rachel Weisz	...	Abigail Salmon
Saoirse Ronan	...	Susie Salmon
Susan Sarandon	...	Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci	...	George Harvey
Thomas McCarthy	...	Principal Caden
Jake Abel	...	Brian Nelson
Michael Imperioli	...	Len Fenerman
Reece Ritchie	...	Ray Singh
Amanda Michalka	...	Clarissa
Rose McIver	...	Lindsey Salmon
Andrew James Allen	...	Samuel Heckler
Nikki SooHoo	...	Holly
Anna George	...	Mrs. Singh
Carolyn Dando	...	Ruth
Charlie Saxton	...	Ronald Drake
Robyn Malcolm	...	Foremans Wife
Stink Fisher	...	Mr. Connors
Christian Thomas Ashdale	...	Buckley Salmon
Stefania Owen	...	Flora Hernandez
Bravo	...	Holiday - Dog
Steven Moreti	...	Diner Customer
Tina Graham	...	Sophie Cichetti
Seth F. Miller	...	Soccer Coach

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA | UK | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Camperdown Studios, Camperdown Road, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Company:

WingNut Films

Trivia:

Mark Wahlberg replaced Ryan Gosling just days before shooting began. In preparation for the role, Gosling had gained 20 pounds and grew out a beard. However, he vacated the role due to creative differences. Wahlberg, who had just completed shooting The Happening (2008), another production in Pennsylvania, became available just in time to accept Gosling's role.

Quotes:

Susie Salmon: [From Trailer] My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name, Susie. I was fourteen years old when I was murdered on December 6th, 1973. I wasn't gone. I was alive in my own perfect world. But in my heart, I knew it wasn't perfect. My murderer still haunted me. My father had the pieces but he couldn't make them fit. I waited for justice but justice did not come.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Paul O'Grady Show: (2009-11-27)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Alice

Great performances betrayed by Peter Jackson's own ego.

Very bad adaptation of the celebrated novel that betrays the heart and soul of the book with a visual effects mess that boulders on overkill. Great actors like Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Mark Wahlberg are left holding the bag for Peter Jackson's own ego, whose more interested in showing off what he could do with the latest technology in visual effects than actually trying to be faithful to the book he's adapting. I understand that movie adaptations are rarely as close to the book but when the whole essence of the novel is thrown away in order to please a director's ego, then that's inexcusable. Weisz, Sarandon and Wahlberg are only playing hollow shells of the characters that were in the book and all of them do their best with what is given but the lack of any real characterization betrays their solid efforts. Saoirse Roan and Stanley Tucci are good but that's because the movie shifts its focus on them and the murder investigation other than try to tell the family drama , which was the heart and soul of the novel.

Skip this travesty and read the book instead.