The Lovely Bones

By Clint Morris

If Peter Jackson were putting on a concert, he’d likely book out an arena, spend the entire budget on pyrotechnics and smoke machines, and compress as much of his greatest hits into a set as possible – even if that means skipping through beats faster than a schoolgirl does hopscotch squares. At the end of the night you’ll likely remember the fabulous visual spectacular the Jackson band put on, and you’ll commend the fine work of his band members, but you won’t be half as touched by any of the songs sung live as you are when you listen to the LP.

Peter Jackson. Visionary director. Done real done well for himself. Has mastered the special effect. And even given Henson a run for his money when it comes to puppetry. But like a recently vacated mansion, Jackson’s films – yes, even “Lord of the Rings” – may look pretty on the outside but they’re in essence ‘empty’ inside.

In ‘’Rings’’, you were impressed by the visual package but not so much touched by Frodo’s attempt to save Sam, let alone enough else that tried to push-our-buttons, right? And with ‘’King Kong’’ you – unlike the original – didn’t much give a damn when the big ape fell to his death, I gather?

Well, with “The Lovely Bones”, prepare to feel strangely and inadequately unmoved by the plight of a family who’ve lost their daughter to the hands of a killer, and the bereaved, whose floating forlornly in purgatory.

Set in a sleepy Pennsylvanian suburb, “Bones” concentrates on a young girl, squeaky-clean sweetie Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan of “Atonement”), who is murdered by the local nutter (Stanley Tucci, giving it his all) in the cornfield by Salmon’s school.

Salmon’s story doesn’t end there though. Next thing she knows, the justifiably distraught teen – whose parents, played by Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg (!), and siblings, are understandably struggling to cope with her mysterious death – is looking down on the people she left behind (including her killer, who thinks he’s gotten away with it, and is beginning to “feel the itch” again) from a magical place that lies somewhere between heaven and the real world.

As her father inches closer to discovering her killer, and her grandmother (a terrific Susan Sarandon) manages to help mend the broken family unit, Salmon begins to accept her death and take a step towards…. well, you know.

Fans of Alice Sebold’s beautifully chilling and welcomingly original novel are going to be gutted with what Jackson’s done here. He’s made a film that’s easy on the eye, packed with some good performances, and easy to watch, but mostly, uninvolving and instantly forgettable.

The script, by Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, is to blame. It’s a weak-tasting sugar-free summary of the book that dedicates most of its pages to the effectsy new world ‘dead girl’ lives in, and the pastelly perfect period piece production values, that it neglects the grit (the murder is skimmed over, the ‘affair’ at the centre of the film has been excised, and the characters far less complex and interesting than they were in the novel), the realism (even the ‘real world’ is so cartoonish and bedrock-esque it’s hard to swallow), and the sting of the story being told.

Jackson seems so intent on reminding audiences he’s a master at visual effects, and is capable of tackling any subject and making it accessible to a 15 year old, that he’s neglected to remember the heart and horror this story needed in order to work on the screen, just as it did on the page.

Though not broken, largely thanks to its fine cast and those impressive visuals, ‘’The Lovely Bones’’ is still quite brittle.