.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Where to start? Do we begin with a discussion about Peter Jackson's work, especially post-Lord of the Rings? Do we start with a paragraph on Alice Sebold's best selling book, The Lovely Bones to which the movie is based? Or do we jump into talking about the more than competent cast that includes names like Sarandon, Tucci, Weisz and Wahlberg? Or maybe we just discuss how The Lovely Bones went from a serious dramatic contender in the awards run at the end of 2009 to being re-marketed towards tweens and a younger generation that might appreciate a good story. Where to start/

The Lovely Bones introduces us to the Salmon family - parents Jack and Abigail (Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz), son Buck (Christian Thomas Ashdale) and daughters Lindsey and Susie (Rose McIver and Saoirse Ronan) in the early 1970's. The Salmon's are a typical, non-flashy family. Jack is an accountant, and as best as we can tell, Abigail is a stay at home mom looking after the daily household chores and taking care of the three children.

Susie will be the narrator through the film and the character to which the film revolves. In the first few minutes of The Lovely Bones, Susie narrates, "I was 14-years old when I was murdered". This is just one of one-too-many foreshadowing statements or events that are set up blatantly at the beginning of the film which will lead to the ultimate tragedy for the family.

As the film continues we watch mainly as Susie eyes and strives for the attention of Ray, an English schoolboy who must have been of greater importance or better developed on Sebold's pages than in Jackson's working screenplay. But just as Susie and Ray set up a date at the local mall, things turn tragic when Susie is distracted after school by street neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). George lures young Susie to an underground lair and off-screen Susie is murdered (the book tells of rape and murder, but the movie barely hints at the vulgarity surrounding the event).

Without a body to confirm these suspicions, Jack begins a relentless crusade to find who was responsible eliciting both the help and the ire of police detective Len Fenerman (Michael Imperioli). As months pass without any further clues as to their daughter's whereabouts, the Salmon family begins to break apart. Abigail leaves and takes a job at -an orchard in a poorly explained subplot and Grandma Lynn (Academy Award Winner Susan Sarandon) gets parachuted in and becomes some form of comic relief thanks to a musical montage which shows her drinking, smoking and trying to do household chores with television sitcom type results.

In the meantime, we continue to experience what is described as the 'in-between' world with the dead Susie. She is trapped in a world of giant waterfalls and mountains. Where the leaves of trees turn into birds and giant roses blossom under frozen lakes. It is in this world where Susie meets Holly (Nikki SooHoo), another soul in the afterlife that is eventually revealed to have a connection to Susie's story and becomes a spirit guide to the confused 14 year-old.

Jackson then swings back and forth between the afterlife and Susie's quest for happiness and justice and the families struggle to survive and come to grips with the loss of their daughter.

Moments of brilliance coupled with scenes bordering on the mundane, The Lovely Bones goes in so many directions and uses so many different techniques to get there that the tragedy of the situation is muddled and lost in the shuffle.

Jackson might not have been the best director in hindsight to bring this tale to the big screen. But Jackson isn't your typical Jackson here either. There are awkward angled cameras at work here and scenes with bobblehead dog figures and opening of Coke bottles that reminded me of Oliver Stone's unique and uncared for hand rather than the revered Jackson. The fantasy world to which Susie spends most of the film is unique but cold and therefore the scenes to which Jackson was probably most excited about the prospect of directing, end up looking out of scope of the film's plot path.

As a result, it is the moments back in the real world that are the more interesting. As Jack and daughter Lindsey investigate their suspicions on George Harvey, there are some moments of real excitement and terror such as when Lindsey is trying to escape after breaking into George's house when he unexpectedly returns.

It should be noted in every review for The Lovely Bones that Stanley Tucci does a fantastic job as the creepy George Harvey. Stanley is creepy and gives a dominating performance of a serial killer that eventually gets done in by what most will call fate or karma.

Alongside Tucci's strong performance is Ronan who embodies the role of Susie and Michael Imperioli who steals every scene from Wahlberg as the two try and put the small pieces of the mystery together.

Other honorable mentions should come to those responsible for the look of the film. The Lovely Bones captures the 1970's perfectly right down to the Shawn Cassidy posters on Susies wall to the mounted ashtrays located in the local mall.

But the strong performances and captivating look of the film can't keep The Lovely Bones from sinking into forgettable medicoracy. The story has shallow characters and unnecessary sub-plots that bog down the running time and must have been more clear or of substance in the source material. And too many scenes play out like 80's music videos rather than dramatic or creative moments intertwined between both worlds.

By the time the groan inducing last narrative is read, "I wish you all a long and wonderful life", you will already have forgotten many of the moments in The Lovely Bones that were meant for provoking the oooh's and aaah's from the audience. Jackson has not created an imaginative and memorable afterworld, but instead created a self-satisfying inbetween world that was stylish without substance.