Thrilling, sad and even comical at times, ‘The Lovely Bones’ comes home with a hit. Produced by notorious director Peter Jackson, (‘King Kong’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy) the film offered many critics a movie worth its hype. Based on the 2002 novel by Alice Sebold, it seems clear the film is as “closely related” as possible. To be quite frank, the novel never did for me what the movie was able to do; more real emotions were experienced in the film than the novel. ‘The Lovely Bones’ is a heart breaking but true to reality type of film that is enriched with very talented actors. Susie, played by Saoirse Ronan, is murdered at the age of fourteen, who is a high school freshman and a dreamer. She aspires to be a wildlife photographer and seems to be defined by a love of her family, which ultimately makes the film more relatable.

 The story follows her trip to “heaven”- or a type of beautiful limbo where there are moments of playful, child-like wonder but also tortured grown-up regret and frustration that she has to experience. The fantasy that Jackson creates around Susie is definitely the film’s finest achievement; the images are so crisp and breathtaking. In the “real world,” Susie’s parents seem to be constantly arguing and disputing about the ongoing task her father (Mark Walberg) cannot let go: finding her murderer. Her serial killer (Stanely Tucci, nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor) is positively revolting and has moments of pleasure even after what he has done to Susie. Admittedly, the film does have a tendency to go off-course at times with the limbo Susie is in and the reality her parents are experiencing. However, Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon) brings a subtle comic feeling to the eerie and depressing topic. Just when you think you can’t handle any more sadness, Grandma Lynn makes us chuckle as she tries to help hold the family together. Throughout the film we experience a true sense of reality that is not always the “happy ending” kind yet it brings light to a dreary topic.  Jackson had a difficult task in front of him honestly- such heavy material like rape and murder of a child could have been difficult to handle but he managed quite professionally. However, overall the film is directed incredibly and the remarkable cast only boosted its glory. Without Ronan, though, it seems the movie would have lacked a lot of personality since this 15-year-old Irish actress really knew how to play out the role. In ‘The Lovely Bones,’ she really does hit every note on a very large scale perfectly and has come through as such a fresh new talent in today’s film frenzy.

At a recent interview during a screening of the movie, Ronan described her work in ‘The Lovely Bones’ as “exhilarating and a complete fulfillment with the end results.” Also, she claimed “I enjoyed working with the entire cast and I am completely pleased to know this film will shine light on real topics that occur everyday.” Overall, ‘The Lovely Bones’ is everything that I expected and much more; it is one of the best films I have seen in a while.