“The Lovely Bones” dark, hopeful

By Kalyn Golland
Western Herald

On Dec. 11, Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” hits theaters nationwide.

It is the story of Susie Salmon, played by Saorise Ronan (Atonement), a young girl murdered by her neighbor, who watches from heaven as her family copes with her death. The story, while dealing with dark themes, ultimately, is one of hope, according to Ronan.

“I mean, Susie’s a typical teenage girl, so I think that hopefully when girls go and see this movie, they’re going to connect with her in some way,” Ronan said via conference call.

“But, yeah, I mean, you know, she’s interested in photography and fashion, and things like that, and boys of course, so I’m interested in all those things. Yeah.”

Susie Salmon may be a typical girl, but it is the atypical events of her life and death that make up the story of “The Lovely Bones.”

In “The Lovely Bones,” Susie Salmon is left in an “in-between” state, her own personal heaven, where she can observe her family’s reaction to her death and then follow the life of her murderer neighbor, played by Stanley Tucci.

As she watches over the life she was once a part of, Susie must go through various stages of grief and acceptance in heaven, not unlike the emotions experienced by her family on earth.
“Yeah, it was challenging,” Ronan said about exploring such dark emotions.

“It’s a very serious subject matter and it was always going to be a challenge for me because I hadn’t done anything quite that deep before. But, it’s also very light and, you know, it’s full of hope, and so in that way, it was easy. But, when we dealt with very, you know, emotional scenes, intense scenes, there would be a lot of discussion between me and Pete and Fran, and Philippa who are the writers, as well. So, yeah, we just talked a lot about it and just made sure that we were going in the same direction and we were on the same page.”

While the themes of the film are dark, as it explores the complexities of rape, murder and loss, Ronan believes that audiences will be able to connect with its more hopeful themes.

“Well, I think that the message of this movie, although it may not seem like it to people who haven’t seen it yet, is ultimately hope, and how you get there,” she said.

“You know, when Susie arrives in the in-between, she doesn’t want to go forward, which would mean accepting her death. She wants to be back on Earth with her family and she knows she can’t do that. And to get there, you know, it’s about her love for her family and not the hate and vengeance that she has for her murder. So, yeah, so it’s hope.”

With the film already gaining Oscar buzz before its opening, “The Lovely Bones” is expected to boast exceptional effects for the heaven scenes, and stirring performances from Ronan, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, and Mark Wahlberg that convey the limits of human emotion, leaving the audiences both moved and, as Ronan anticipates, hopeful.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Dec 9 2009. Filed under A & E, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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