DVD reviews: The Lovely Bones

Clearly, understatement isn’t Sir Peter’s strong suit. Based on the Oprah-endorsed bestseller by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones is a garish, gaudy mess that values superfluous special effects fantasies over smaller matters like the existence of characters or making sense.

Set in the simpler time of 1973, The Lovely Bones sees 14-year-old Susie Salmon suddenly plucked from her life only to find herself in what appears to be heaven, where she helps her family come to terms with their loss.

From the drippingly nostalgic depiction of the early 1970s to the nauseating interpretation of a little girl’s non-denominational paradise, every single scene has been digitally tampered with. It’s as though the story were a charred and withered snag that could only be made tolerable by the over-liberal addition of tomato sauce.

Apart from being gratuitous, the slathering on of digital effects only serves to accentuate their poor quality. Much of Susie Salmon’s ‘heaven’ is blocky, flat and fake, particularly under the unforgiving eye of Blu-ray.

What’s most disappointing about the mangling of The Lovely Bones stems from the suspicion there’s a good movie hidden somewhere underneath. A magnificent cast including the likes of Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon and Mark Wahlberg presents an opportunity you glimpse only when they all-too-rarely take the screen. Surely watching these accomplished actors talk to one another would have been better than sitting through what’s essentially a really depressing Pixar film?

As anyone even vaguely familiar with The Lovely Bones will be aware, the tale broaches some heavy subject material, which Jackson roundly fluffs. However, it remains too much of a bummer to be considered light entertainment.  TG

Sound 3 1/2

Vision 3

Film: 2 1/2