I don’t usually go to movies. It is not that I have anything against them; I just don’t often feel a pressing need to spend money to sit in a theater with a bunch of sneezing strangers to watch a new film. The Harry Potter movies are certainly an exception to this. Apparently so is the new movie, “The Lovely Bones”.
I read this moving book by Alice Sebold several years ago, when it was all the rage to do so. The premise appealed to me quite a bit. Yes it is all very, very sad. A beautiful, innocent and sweet 14-year-old girl is creepily raped and murdered by a disturbed neighbor and then cut into several pieces. Her family is understandably left in ruins. The story is not nearly as traumatizing as it might be, however, because the dead girl, Susie, continues to exist as she hangs out in her perfect “in-between” world, watching her family and doing her best to help them deal with their grief and catch her killer.
Something in me was seriously intrigued when I heard that this book was being made into a movie. As it turns out, I am undeniably fascinated by the obscene. The dark and twisted aspects of humanity are so enigmatic and unbelievable to me that I literally could not wait to see how the trauma would be alluded to in this film – and how Susie’s serial killer would be depicted. I was also excited to see the stunning “in-between” world. “The Lovely Bones” is so brilliant because it manages to interweave the most abhorrent aspects of the human experience with the most magical and transcendent. The presence of these two extremes make the beautiful moments shine with brightness and power.
A good friend of mine went to the movie with me on Saturday. She is a particularly sensitive and empathetic person, so the movie was a little much for her. I loved it. The rape and murder is not shown at all. Even so, the emotional power of the film is immense and difficult to handle at times. My friend was literally balled up in her chair throughout much of it and sometimes huddled under her sweater for protection. I might actually go again… just could not get enough. It was truly a magnificent film.
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