**I read the book by Alice Sebold and I loved it. I was really excited to see the film, especially because I really like Peter Jackson. I thought it would be impossible to make a good movie out of this story and this film sort of proves that theory.
"The Lovely Bones" isn't a bad movie, but it is not a good one either. It is too long and all over the place. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Mr. Harvey and all of his scenes are excellent. The rest of the film has a few good scenes, but overall it doesn't connect. There were too many scenes of Suzi in her "heaven". It kind of got boring after a while, but at the same time, the effects were wonderful and it was beautiful to look at.
Susan Sarandon was very good as the Grandmother. She was very funny, but she did seem to be a little out of place. Rachel Weisz is a great actress, but she really had nothing to do with the story. Her entire character could have been written out and it wouldn't have made a difference. Mark Wahlberg was good as the loving Dad, but the real stand out performance is Stanley Tucci. He was perfectly evil and creepy. You really hate his character.
The film tries to jam everything in the book, but some subplots don't work, such as Suzi and the boy she was in love with. There were too many scenes of the family grieving the loss of their daughter. Also the book has many chapters of the father trying to figure out who his daughter's killer is. There are a few scenes showing this, but I felt like that should have been the main part of the film instead of Suzi's "heaven". True the book mostly takes place in her "heaven" and that works. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for a film. It brings the film to a stand still just so we can view the unique and crazy things that happen there.
Still "The Lovely Bones" is worth seeing for some good performances, beautiful cinematography, and great special effects. The screenplay may not have been the best, but it still has several sequences that people will really enjoy.
C+ I recommend it.
I agree it didn't quite work as a whole but there were moments where I just felt gutted.
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