Critic's Corner: The Lovely Bones
Rae Dunbar
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Entertainment
In "The Lovely Bones," based on the novel by Alice Sebold, Susie Salmon (Saorise Ronan) makes it a point to talk about how she was murdered when she was 14 years old.
Her grandmother predicted she would live a long life since she had saved her brother's life. Instead, her life would be taken without warning.
The movie cuts out showing Susie's murder, making her seem like she didn't know she had died.
Viewers that had read the novel were aware of the series of events that lead to her murder. These viewers were able to realize Susie's murder did occur, but at first movie viewers were left clueless on how her death occurred.
In the scene after Susie realizes she has been murdered by an unsuspecting neighbor, it becomes real to Susie that she's dead, by allowing her to see her murderer clean up the evidence.
The feeling of Susie's murder is real to her and the audience. The movement of the camera was a technique used to make the viewers feel like they were moving with Susie, running with her, in panic with her.
The novel describes Susie's brutal murder and assault, but for a PG-13 rated movie, the play out of the movie doesn't imply a brutal murder.
The murderer cleaned the blood off of his clothes and any blood or mud found in his home; however, there was enough blood found at the location of the murder, a cornfield, to convince the detective on the case that Susie was not likely to be alive. Later in the movie, the murderer carries a pocket knife with him, leading the audience to believe it as the murder weapon.
The neighbor cleaned up and disposed of any noticeable evidence of Susie Salmons' murder.
He does, however, keep one 'trophy' of the murder, Susie's charm bracelet. He pays particular attention to the charm of a house, since his character has a hobby of making houses and other forts. His hobby allowed him to lure Susie into a place where he could carry out his plans of taking her life.
Susie's father also had a hobby, one that he wanted Susie to help him with. Mr. Jack Salmon (Mark Wahlberg) teaches Susie how to build ships inside of glass bottles. In a fit of rage he threw the glass bottles, destroying the projects he worked on with his oldest daughter, his daughter who was no longer alive.
Her grandmother predicted she would live a long life since she had saved her brother's life. Instead, her life would be taken without warning.
The movie cuts out showing Susie's murder, making her seem like she didn't know she had died.
Viewers that had read the novel were aware of the series of events that lead to her murder. These viewers were able to realize Susie's murder did occur, but at first movie viewers were left clueless on how her death occurred.
In the scene after Susie realizes she has been murdered by an unsuspecting neighbor, it becomes real to Susie that she's dead, by allowing her to see her murderer clean up the evidence.
The feeling of Susie's murder is real to her and the audience. The movement of the camera was a technique used to make the viewers feel like they were moving with Susie, running with her, in panic with her.
The novel describes Susie's brutal murder and assault, but for a PG-13 rated movie, the play out of the movie doesn't imply a brutal murder.
The murderer cleaned the blood off of his clothes and any blood or mud found in his home; however, there was enough blood found at the location of the murder, a cornfield, to convince the detective on the case that Susie was not likely to be alive. Later in the movie, the murderer carries a pocket knife with him, leading the audience to believe it as the murder weapon.
The neighbor cleaned up and disposed of any noticeable evidence of Susie Salmons' murder.
He does, however, keep one 'trophy' of the murder, Susie's charm bracelet. He pays particular attention to the charm of a house, since his character has a hobby of making houses and other forts. His hobby allowed him to lure Susie into a place where he could carry out his plans of taking her life.
Susie's father also had a hobby, one that he wanted Susie to help him with. Mr. Jack Salmon (Mark Wahlberg) teaches Susie how to build ships inside of glass bottles. In a fit of rage he threw the glass bottles, destroying the projects he worked on with his oldest daughter, his daughter who was no longer alive.
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