The Lovely Bones: Part 2

The Lovely Bones Part 2: Book vs. Movie
(By Alice Sebold)

While I was reading The Lovely Bones people often saw me carrying a book around; most would ask what book am I reading. When I gave them the title they would respond with an enthusiastic “Oh really!” Believing they knew what book I was talking about I’d ask, “You read the book?” but everyone replied, “No, but I did watched the movie,” and that really annoyed me. I had a lot of my friends tell me that the movie was really good so I decided to watch it and compare it to the book then share my opinion with you guys.

The Actors
One major thing I look at when seeing a film based on a book are the actors—did they deliver the role? Did they show the hidden emotions well enough?  Do they fit the physical appearance of the character?

Cast of The Lovely Bones

Susie Salmon: Saoirse Ronan

Jack Salmon:Mark Wahlberg

Abigail Salmon: Rachel Weisz

Grandma Lynn: Susan Sarandon

Lindsey Salmon: Rose Mclver

Buckley Salmon: Christian Ashdale

George Harvey: Stanley Tucci

Len Fenerman:Michael Imperioli

Ray Singh: Reece Ritchie

Ruth Connors: Carolyn Dando

First the protagonist: though Ronan does not physically look like Susie, she actually did a pretty good job. In my personal opinion I think that Ronan did a good job delivering the emotions of Susie and showing that though Susie lived in a “perfect” heaven not everything was perfect for her. Two big roles in the story are Jack and Abigail Salmon. Wahlberg did a decent job but based on his acting I expected a little more; meanwhile, Weisz, I feel, did not do the job justice. Abigail went through a lot of pain losing her child, I expected Weisz to show that pain to the point in which I would feel her pain. Grandma Lynn is another big part, and I feel Sarandon did a fantastic job! She played the part perfectly showing how crazy and fun Grandma Lynn was. Lindsey was shown a lot in the book and so in the movie, Mclver was, in opinion, neutral—in others words I didn't hate her acting but I didn't love it either. Partly I blame the book because it didn't go deep into the emotions of Lindsey, but I feel there could have been more too it based on her actions. Buckley was mentioned several times but it didn't go too deep into his story same in the movie, but I think Ashdale did good for the little bit he got. Tucci did an incredible job as Mr. Harvey! Tucci honestly creeped me out giving me the chills. Len Fenerman was shown a lot throughout the storyline but I feel they cut him out a lot in the movie, but Imperioli did a wonderful job playing the part. I also feel that Ray and Ruth were cut out a lot, especially Ruth, but Ritchie and Dando did an amazing job and they physically looked like their characters.

The Plot
Another thing I judge is how true did they stay to the story, and the changes within the story. Compared to other movies the director did a decent job staying true to the story, but there were some changes I didn't like. For example, I didn't like the fact they cut out the part in which Abigail has an affair with Detective Fenerman, which, I believe, is important because it really emphasizes how hurt Abigail was. Another thing I didn't like was that they took out a lot of Ruth’s storyline. Ruth was a very important character because she was the only one who truly believed that Susie was still with them, the only one who could truly communicate with Susie. I did expect to see Samuel and Hal too because, although they are major characters in the story, they did help Salmon family throughout the entire story—they even became part of the family by the end.

There were some changes that I did like, for example giving Holly a bigger storyline. While reading the book, I felt Holly was a useless character who was there for no apparent reason, but in the movie she help Susie continue her own life. I also liked that they made her one of Mr. Harvey’s victims because she would be able to relate to Susie’s pain and not be hypocritical telling Susie, “I know how you feel.”

Overall, I believe their script was decent compared to a lot of other books made to movies, but the cast could have used some help. As a reminder, all of this is just my opinion so please don’t be offended if I criticized your favorite actor/movie. If you seen the movie and/or read the book leave comments below, tell me your opinion, and tell me if you want me to do more movie versus book segments. Until next time, read!

Vs.

 
  

My Movie Rating:

~A.BW