The Lovely Bones is, in my professional opinion, the most emotionally taxing movie I have ever seen. Lovely Bones follows a young girl that watches her family, and murderer from purgatory as they unravel her mystery and move on from the loss. I saw after watching this movie that it had received low reviews and I’m honestly not surprised because it is definitely not a movie for everyone. The acting is good from the leads, and a standout performance is given by Stanley Tucci who plays the killer. Tucci plays creepy in a way that gets under your skin and incites paranoia. He is nearly unrecognizable in this role. Susan Sarandon is also great as the grandmother. The only aspect of this movie I wasn’t necessarily a fan of was the depiction of purgatory, or “the-in-between” as they call it. It was undeniably gorgeous in every shot, but a lot of the scenes I found myself bored in and wanting to go back to the parts of the movie following the family. It’s not a big issue, just a small gripe… My wife put it perfectly when she described this movie as “not too much of anything.” You never feel too overwhelmed while watching Lovely Bones. Sure, there are moments I’m on the edge of my seat and holding my breath, times I am nearly brought to tears, and times I can barely look at the screen. All of that is balanced though. I was also intrigued, happy, and even laughing in moments. That right there is what makes you need to take a moment and collect yourself after it’s over though. You have just exited a roller coaster that you never even knew you got on. You don’t know what to think, or feel, or even if you like it. To me, that is the beauty of this movie.
