Like the title character in the lovely bones, this film is lost. There are entire sequences that are so expertly handled and so well crafted you’re swept away in its storytelling. Unfortunately each and every moment is squandered with a really poor organazation of ideas and concepts. The plot is familiar by the trailer, or if you read the celebrated novel. Suzy Salmon is raped and killed, and stuck in the in-between while she watches her family back on earth fall apart, as well as her murderer slowly plan another attack.
There is a lot to work with here, but Peter Jackson has no idea what to focus on. Suzy’s afterlife is an often very scary place, which reflects her inner feelings of the turmoil she had to endure at the hands of a very scary pedophilethe. Her family life reflects this with the mom “not being able to cope” and abandoning the family. The father becomes a shell of a human, spending his days alone in total seclusion. However once Suzy starts to accept the fact that she’s dead, and she might want to move on to heaven, her family life picks up. The mom, inexplicably moves back home. The father learns how to love his wife again and not obsess over who the killer is. Everything gets all fine and dandy. So, is the moral of the story every time a family suffers a tragedy, if they don’t handle it well, it’s the fault of the deceased who just can’t let go? Or is it the other way around.
The film never gives a clear answer, which I suppose could be the point, but when it’s just so broad an interpretation there just doesn’t seem any reason for it. There is no closure in the ending, no revelations. She just decides of her own accord that “she’s ready.” That’s it. So why did we just follow you and your family for over a year, through ups and downs, all seemingly random events, for literally no meaning. This may be an elementary example, but it works: Remember in mighty morphing power rangers when the rangers would each individually get in elaborate fights with a monster, each one failing, only to at the very end say “let’s combine our forces and use out zords” and get the job done in no time flat? Well, same goes for here. There is no rhyme or reason for the events, as none are explored in any depth. So as a whole the film fails quite miserably, with little to no interest in a satisfying ending. It starts, keeps going, then suddenly and without reason stops. All the characters make decisions seemingly at will, with no motivation. I'm told the wife has an affair with the police investigator in the book, THEN leaves the family behind because she is not only unable to cope with her shilds death, but also unable to come to terms with her infedelity. Such character work is not found in the film however, with her departure and subsequent return given absolutly no reasoning.
That being said, Peter Jackson is a great storyteller, if not woefully misguided. There are sequences filled with such beauty or suspense, you’ll be transfixed for whole minutes at a time. A scene where the little sister sneaks into a neighbor’s house to find evidence of him being the killer is of Hitchcock caliber. I haven’t been on the edge of my seat like that in ages. Also, a scene where Suzy floats past all the crime scenes of all the people her murderer had killed. It’s scary, it’s sad, and it’s beautiful all at the same time. There are also some deep and interesting moral questions going on. In life Suzy was most looking forward to her first kiss. While in a dark, grey, garbage filled afterlife that reflects her inner struggle, She gives a moving and gut wrenching speech about how most people get married and have kids, all she wanted was a first kiss and “he took that away from me. No matter what happens, even if I go to heaven, I’ll never get that.” It’s sad and heartbreaking, and there isn’t an easy answer.
As I said before, the movie just kind of stops, with no rhyme or reason as to why she’s suddenly “ready to move on.” I’d say it’s worth a rental for sure, but if you want my expert opinion, go watch WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. It’s infinitely better and tackles much the same ground as this does. I’d be interested to read the book of which this is based, and see what came first, the book or the WHAT DREAMS MAY COME film script, because there are entire passages in both film that mirror each other totally. Even down to how the afterlife is represented. In the end Peter Jackson still comes out relativly unscathed as a filmmaker. His skill and craft are still on display in spades, however he needs to choose his projects more carefully. His previous film of a similar nature HEAVENLY CREATURES (Kate Winslet's first film by the way) was tender, sad, and at times downright scary. Two very unstable teenage girls become very dependent on one another, and when the parents seperate them, they take matters to the extreem. It was focused, sharp, and quick (even at well over 2 hours, every scene had a purpose and meaning). I for one would like to see Jackson return to even EARLIER roots and make a balls to the wall splatter gore-fest to end all gore-fests. He needs to stop fishing for awards and stick to what he loves, because his heart really isn't in the lovely bones.
No comments:
Post a Comment