the lovely bones – movie
wow. good gracious. that was awesome. can i first say that the casting was utterly perfect. who knew marky mark could act? or at least show that much emotion? and emotion is one thing that the actors didn’t hold back on. i love it when actors really cry when they’re supposed to cry instead of just making pouty unhappy faces 😦 and they weren’t just crying. they showed anguish and it was beautifully and tragically done. saoirse ronan (pronounced seer-sha) as susie salmon is breathtaking. i knew saoirse was the ish after seeing “atonement” and “city of ember”. she’s my new hero. she was completely unafraid to embrace the entire spectrum of emotion that the story requires.
and reece ritchie who plays ray singh was a perfect match. in the few moments that he interacts with saoirse in the movie, he completely captured the fact that ray was in love with susie. ray’s feelings for susie could have easily lacked the depth it had in the book but reece pulled it off in a way that made me cry. we should all be so lucky. the way the movie progressed had me concerned about the part where susie inhabits ruth’s body and finally looses her virginity to ray. but peter jackson (in all your wisdom, i bow to thee) decided that in the movie version ray and susie would not kiss before she died, instead susie would possess ruth to finally get that first kiss from ray. it wasn’t lacking in the least. the rape was not shown at all which was another thing i was concerned about. what happened during susie’s brutal murder was implied, which made it all the more deceptive and disgusting.
susan sarandon as susie’s grandmother was a breath of fresh air, just as the character is in the book. brilliant acting. i’m already comfortable seeing rachel weisz in roles like she played in “the constant gardener” and “definitely, maybe” so i felt she captured the intelligent and untamed nature of susie’s mother wonderfully. and is stanley tucci creepy or what?! those fake teeth and that comb over do wonders.
the movie is also beautiful to look at. the effects were appropriate and blended seamlessly with the story line (although tons of people disagree). and the music wasn’t afraid to get crazy. it was effective in a way that amplified your perception of the scene. saoirse’s voiceover was done perfectly to help narrate through the passing of time. not even a trace of her irish accent. she’s amazing. especially when she delivers the line “these were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections — sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent — that happened after I was gone.” made me cry. sappy me.
my eyes burned fiercely through the movie. i’m not kidding when i say that reece ritchie plays a mean ray singh. when he delivers one of my favorite lines “you are beautiful, susie salmon” i cried every time. and yes, he gives the line more than once, yay for kleenex. and the ending when susie reaches her ultimate destination and meets the other victims…no words…just tears.
thank you peter jackson for staying true to the book, as you always do. and the liberties you took were perfect and no less genius than your previous adaptations (minus the king kong remake).
the lovely bones
get your tissue. i’m glad i’ve finally finished this book. i have to say that it took me a while to get through it. not in a bad way. i was frequently finding myself going back over what i had just read. the way alice sebold writes is so leaden with meaning and just so plain beautiful i wanted to make sure i didn’t miss anything. i’ll admit that at the halfway point, the book’s momentum picked up big time and it turned into an unputdownable page turner. i wasn’t expecting that.
i have never come across a story like susie salmon’s before. written from the perspective of a 14 year old in heaven, she brings innocence to the story and surprisingly tells it without judgement. i mean, the girl is murdered for goodness sakes! don’t worry, this is established on the first page of the book. when susie reviews her murder once in heaven she gives a play by play as she’s lured into her murderer’s trap. susie’s companion in heaven Franny eerily says it was “like taking candy from a baby”. i love that line. it caught me by surprise. it was so frank and it set the no-nonsense tone that they have in heaven. the struggle of susie’s family is heartbreaking. the effect her murder has on her friends and community is unexpected.
there is a heavy layer of forgiveness threaded throughout. the relationship of susie’s parents Jack and Abigail was particularly emotional to me. to think that they went through ALL that and they were able to fall in love again…amazing. and jack understanding that what abigail did was her way of coping and the way he patiently waited for her…amazing. at the end of the story i felt as if i had been completely ripped apart then put back together again. it was the best unhappy happy ending i have ever read.
movie notes: i’m so there. i would just like to say that i’m a huge fan of saoirse ronan (atonement) and she is an amazing pick for susie. peter jackson is directing and i think he pulled it off. december 11th. you wouldn’t want to miss it!
nourishment!
i finally made it to a bookstore (books a million) and came away with 3 wonderful finds. i’m in the process of reading the second sookie stackhouse novel and i told myself i need to finish it before i start one of my new books, but i have ants in my pants about it. 
ahem! i have the following: the lovely bones by alice sebold, shiver by maggie stiefvater, and city of glass by cassandra clare. i have heard great things about all. any suggestions on where i should start?
the bookend. 