The Lovely Bones
I took a class in grad school titled “Mental Health and Contemporary Fiction” and we read a book by Alice Sebold. That is how I came upon The Lovely Bones, the book and the film. The book was… well… to be honest I didn’t really enjoy it. At first it was interesting and good, but then it got weird and boring and kind of lame. There was a lot of skimming towards the end of the book, and I am not ashamed to tell you that. But, nonetheless, I wanted to see the film. Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlburg, Susan Sarandon – I can’t pass something like that up even if I wanted to.
But I’ll tell you what – they did a good job on making a kind of crappy book into a decent movie, and I believe that is all because of Stanley Tucci. I have always liked him, but he really is different and awesome in this film – totally creepy, but great. I think one of the best parts is that he doesn’t look or act like Stanley Tucci at all, except with his hands and little things like that. He is a great actor. Now, in the book, the scene where the girl is raped and murdered is shocking and creepy and powerful. They chose to leave that scene out of the movie, which was a bold choice. If you read the book, you can almost picture what happens in your head, though, because they made everything look exactly like it did in my head when I read it. Seriously, though. Stanley Tucci. Wow. Genius. Which isn’t to discount Mark Wahlburg and Susan Sarandon, who were both really good and interesting to watch. Especially Susan Sarandon, who is hilarious in a movie that isn’t supposed to be funny. And they did a good job with the cinematography too, especially since she’s dead for most of the film. I mean, it was a little What Dreams May Come but in a good way.
But then, like the book, the film got boring in places – Stanley Tucci was a bright spot in an otherwise dull movie. The one bone I have to pick with the movie was that they never mentioned that she was also raped – which she was. Raped and then murdered, but it was never mentioned. I mean, maybe it wasn’t necessary, but it was a big part of the book, for sure. They also never talked about how her mother had an affair when she left the family, but whatever. I guess interesting cinematography is more important than accurate storyline.
But I’ll tell you what – they did a good job on making a kind of crappy book into a decent movie, and I believe that is all because of Stanley Tucci. I have always liked him, but he really is different and awesome in this film – totally creepy, but great. I think one of the best parts is that he doesn’t look or act like Stanley Tucci at all, except with his hands and little things like that. He is a great actor. Now, in the book, the scene where the girl is raped and murdered is shocking and creepy and powerful. They chose to leave that scene out of the movie, which was a bold choice. If you read the book, you can almost picture what happens in your head, though, because they made everything look exactly like it did in my head when I read it. Seriously, though. Stanley Tucci. Wow. Genius. Which isn’t to discount Mark Wahlburg and Susan Sarandon, who were both really good and interesting to watch. Especially Susan Sarandon, who is hilarious in a movie that isn’t supposed to be funny. And they did a good job with the cinematography too, especially since she’s dead for most of the film. I mean, it was a little What Dreams May Come but in a good way.
But then, like the book, the film got boring in places – Stanley Tucci was a bright spot in an otherwise dull movie. The one bone I have to pick with the movie was that they never mentioned that she was also raped – which she was. Raped and then murdered, but it was never mentioned. I mean, maybe it wasn’t necessary, but it was a big part of the book, for sure. They also never talked about how her mother had an affair when she left the family, but whatever. I guess interesting cinematography is more important than accurate storyline.
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