THE LOVELY BONES: SURPRISINGLY LOVELY

Nobody notices when we leave. I mean, the moment when we really choose to go. At best you might feel, a whisper or the wave of a whisper, undulating down. My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name: Susie.

I was 14 years old, when I was murdered on December 6th 1973.

I was here for a moment, and then I was gone.

Yes, a movie about a young girl who is murdered right off the bat and the killer goes on about his life and it is still a lovely movie. It is gruesome as well. Just the previously mentioned plot line is creepy, to say the least, and squirmy to sit through. The imagery and illusion of her murder is much more horrific than any slasher film full of fake blood could ever hope to be.

And it's sad to watch her family struggle to go on, struggle to cope, struggle to emerge in one piece. It's also sad to watch Susie (Saoirse Ronan) who waits in the "in between" to watch over her family and keep tabs on the man who killed her (Stanley Tucci). She is especially close to her father played by Mark Wahlberg. He might not have been the best cast actor for this part. Additionally, Susan Sarandon is Susie's grandmother, who acts much like Mrs. Robinson, who comes to help the family out and provide some comedic relief to the heavy topic.  While Ronan is magical with her sparkling blue eyes, trying to make sense of it all, the movie rides heavily on her and she is able to carry the load. Tucci is an incredible pervert which makes him a wonderful villain. Sarandon is almost too campy in her part and when her character makes a 180, it's almost not believable. However, for the sake of the film, it was easy to accept a lot of not quite believable pieces. I totally fell in love with Susie's crush (Reece Ritchie) and can't wait to see more of him. Cryptically speaking, I did not like the ending because although I believe in karma, it felt too random to feel vindicated. It was not a perfect film, but it was perfectly lovely, a true surprise for such depressing material.