The Lovely Bones_Starring Mark Wahlberg

The Lovely Bones is an adaptation of the bestselling book by Alice Sebold. It is about the despair that overwhelms a family when their daughter is suddenly and tragically killed. Susie Salmon played by Saorise Ronan is the innocent victim; a young teen murdered by a disturbed predator. I have to say that this movie was visually fantastic and well acted by all the leads. My only complaint would be that the flow of the movie seemed a bit off.

Director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) created an engaging film by using CG imagery to place the viewer from time to time in a fanciful “inbetween” world where the young girl ended up, unable to let go of her family and accept her death. Mark Wahlberg did a good job playing the unrelenting father. Rachel Weisz, the mom and Susan Sarandon as the grandma, both held their own. I was really impressed and creeped out by Stanley Tucci who played the loner neighbour, who no one would initially suspects as the killer.

The touches of comic relief by the grandma, and the beautiful visuals, were a deliberate way of allowing the audience to understand the heart wrenching circumstance without being overwhelmed by it. Try to see this one! 8 out of 10 Says IGEM.