I am an ardent fan of Peter Jackson's 'Heavenly Creatures' and rate it #1 in my top 5 drama films of all time thus far. I was looking forward to seeing this film adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel - which I have not read - as it sounded like he was going back to his 'Heavenly Creature' roots with the story that was presented. I had read some disappointing reviews before seeing 'The Lovely Bones' so did not go in with much expectation but kind of hoping that the detractors may be wrong: unfortunately they were right.
Where to begin: 1/ I found the acting weak and forced. Mark Whalberg was miscast and was so obvious at playing emotional and serious rather than being the feeling, like much of the movie there was no finesse to his performance. Rachel Weisz had hardly much to do at all and her role seemed lost and neglected - but I would put this down to editing choices. Stanley Tucci and Saorise Ronan fared better, but they are better actors than Whalberg so that goes without saying. Susan Sarandon was just a gross caricature.
2/ Like Sarandon's performance, there was no subtlety to the presentation of the film. It's like Peter Jackson was too concerned with making a great looking technically impressive film which has overshadowed the human element of the story. Personally, I found some of the CGI effects second rate like something I would find in a television commercial: it just did not grab me and was surfeit.
3/ While it appears that much effort had gone into the production design with some meticulous detail, it looked overdone and so fake 70's the actors looked like they were playing dress up and acting like they were still in the 21st century. The supporting roles were nothing to write home about at all and were just plain embarrassing to watch in some scenes. 'Heavenly Creatures' had strong performances, from then largely unknown actors and this film had nothing exceptional to offer in the thespian stakes, yet had a big name cast.
4/ I was not connected or emotionally involved in the proceedings, due to the over-importance of the pyrotechnics on display and the screenplay was choppy and all over the place; too much forced fed sentiment. Maybe I missed something, but the style of the film did not mirror the substance and potential that was on offer and what could have been a moving and distressing experience ended up being distanced and flaccid.
A huge disappointment!
Where to begin: 1/ I found the acting weak and forced. Mark Whalberg was miscast and was so obvious at playing emotional and serious rather than being the feeling, like much of the movie there was no finesse to his performance. Rachel Weisz had hardly much to do at all and her role seemed lost and neglected - but I would put this down to editing choices. Stanley Tucci and Saorise Ronan fared better, but they are better actors than Whalberg so that goes without saying. Susan Sarandon was just a gross caricature.
2/ Like Sarandon's performance, there was no subtlety to the presentation of the film. It's like Peter Jackson was too concerned with making a great looking technically impressive film which has overshadowed the human element of the story. Personally, I found some of the CGI effects second rate like something I would find in a television commercial: it just did not grab me and was surfeit.
3/ While it appears that much effort had gone into the production design with some meticulous detail, it looked overdone and so fake 70's the actors looked like they were playing dress up and acting like they were still in the 21st century. The supporting roles were nothing to write home about at all and were just plain embarrassing to watch in some scenes. 'Heavenly Creatures' had strong performances, from then largely unknown actors and this film had nothing exceptional to offer in the thespian stakes, yet had a big name cast.
4/ I was not connected or emotionally involved in the proceedings, due to the over-importance of the pyrotechnics on display and the screenplay was choppy and all over the place; too much forced fed sentiment. Maybe I missed something, but the style of the film did not mirror the substance and potential that was on offer and what could have been a moving and distressing experience ended up being distanced and flaccid.
A huge disappointment!
