Review of The Lovely Bones (2009) by Splitmind — 14 Nov 2020

Having not read the book, I came to this film blind and unaware it was even an adaptation until the closing credits. Lovely Bones is an odd film. Even by the end of it I struggled to decide whether I loved it or hated it.

One of my main issues is I couldn't tell if they were glamorising the rape and murder of a young girl. Early in the film they depict well the horrors of what the family suffers at her loss; the powerlessness and search for answers. However this then takes and odd turn as we see said young girl in limbo meeting up with the other victims who seem to be calling her to join them and telling her how happy she'll be; that she needs to 'move on' and let go. I found this a rather disturbing narrative in the wrong way. There was too much emphasis on special effects of the afterlife. Something else that really grinded my gears was the narrator's constantly whispering delivery of her lines. This did not make it more impactful but irritated me as if I was watching an ASMR video. However this is something personal to me so it may not be so abhorrent to others.

I think the film could have massively benefitted from a shorter runtime, as there wasn't a lot delivered in the two hours that couldn't have been achieved in 90 minutes.

Overall, it can be a moving film at times but there is a lot of tediousness to get through.