A Lovely Mess

Today, I caught the new movie The Lovely Bones, the story of a 14-year old girl stuck "in between" after her murder, watching those she left behind trying to find a way to move on. It's the newest from Peter Jackson -- directed by him, and adapted into a screenplay by him and the two screenwriting partners that worked with him on The Lord of the Rings... and the far less triumphant King Kong. Unfortunately, this movie comes more from the second camp.

In the plus column, it's a visual feast. There are, of course, the striking images of the afterlife that have been plastered all over the trailers and ads for the film. They're sweeping, creative, colorful, and engaging. But that's only part of the whole. The movie is a period piece set in the early 70's, and even the more conventional images of "real life" are quite a sight to behold. The decade is captured with great fidelity, from the sets to the costumes to every fine detail you might not even be consciously aware of. And it's all filmed in very expressive ways.

Also in the plus column is actor Stanley Tucci, who plays the man who murders the little girl. In a wash of mixed-at-best press about this movie, he's the one element that's been receiving universal praise and award nominations, and it's not hard to see why. He's a truly creepy presence on screen, and alters everything from his mannerisms to his voice as he embodies this villain.

But part of the reason he has to work so damn hard is a muddy script. Without spoiling too much (I think), it's revealed in the course of the film that this is not the first time he's murdered a young girl. And from what the audience learns, his behavior in this case seems to be totally inconsistent with how he acted all the previous times. You're left to wonder how a man so careful not to get caught for more than a decade could suddenly make all the mistakes he makes in this movie. And the more your mind fills in about the man's past, the less it lines up with what you're seeing in this movie. Stanley Tucci's achievement in this film is thus all the more great when you think that he found any cohesion or realism in this unbelievable and scattershot character.

The script flaws only start there. Though the trailers try to make this film look to be about a quest for justice, it's really only about a quest for closure. And while the movie makes it very clear this is the intended thematic focus, the narrative doesn't help in this at all. The surviving family reach their emotional endings without us seeing the final key steps on the journey. And all along the way, we the audience are shown more information than the characters, all adding up in such a way that we can't reach any closure at all. There are just too many unanswered questions, too many inconsistencies, and too great a lack of satisfaction by the time the final credits arrive.

And outside of Tucci, the script is not helped by the cast. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz are the parents of the murdered girl, and while they go through the motions of grieving, it seems beyond them to actually feel it, or make us feel it. Susan Sarandon appears as the grandmother, but her role is a small one used entirely for comic relief; we know she has a considerable array of acting skills, but isn't given anyplace to use them.

Then there's the little girl, Saoirse Ronan. She does a decent job, but is asked to carry more weight in the film than possibly any young actor could manage. Her character narrates the entire movie. Good narration is a rare art; I can count on my fingers the number of movies that have had truly excellent character narration, and we're talking about some majorly gifted actors who were able to pull it off -- Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption, Edward Norton in Fight Club, that level of talent. This young girl, though she may have a compelling look, and comes off well in her scenes on camera, gives a flat and uninteresting narration for the spine of this movie.

For the remarkable visuals and the even more remarkable Stanley Tucci, I can see my way to rating this film a C+. Nevertheless, it is ultimately a very beautiful mess that I can't really recommend.