The Lovely Bones is taken from the book by the same title, written by Alice Sebold. The movie is produced by Steven Spielberg, which in itself tells the viewer that the storyline must be a strong one for Spielberg to have even considered taking on the venture. As in the book, the movie is narrated by the dead teenage girl, Susie Salmon.

The story is disturbing in the fact that it deals with the death of an innocent child, however Spielberg chooses not to dwell on the blood and gore of murder. Rather he is quite effective with his use of mystery and “bumps in the night” technique. There are also some nice fantasy scenes of what Heaven looks like to Susie.

The movie has a slightly different twist on its ending and the characters are portrayed much more likable than they were in the book. It deals with mourning and grief, as well as murder, and makes for a rather depressing story overall. The movie is rated PG-13 with good reason. Spielberg does another superb job in his production of this movie.

“The Lovely Bones” is rife with lovely images and lovely performances as it tells its touching tale.

Peter Jackson’s film of Alice Sebold’s novel is so effective, it could almost be a story from his own life. It isn’t, but clearly he is in tune with the plight of the Salmon family, whose teenage daughter Susie (Saoirse Ronan) disappears and, months later, is deemed dead. Yet the girl herself remains in a sort of limbo, unable to leave behind her parents, the little brother she once saved from death and her younger sister (Rose McIver).

Neither can they put Susie behind them. It is a close family, even if Susie’s mom (Rachel Weisz) knits her ugly wool caps and Susie’s grandmother (Susan Sarandon) is hard drinker who keeps insisting it is time to move on. They cannot. Dad (Mark Wahlberg) becomes obsessed with finding the killer, a neighbor named George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). In limbo, Susie strives to reveal her killer, so her family can heal.

Jackson seems to have imbued his carefully chosen cast with the characters they quickly embody. None makes mistakes, pulling moviegoers into their plight.

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