It is a little past midnight and I just got home from watching “The Lovely Bones” directed by Peter Jackson, the theatrical adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel of the same title. It is the first movie in a very long time that I have left a movie simply enraged. My anger comes not from a bad story, shoddy visuals or poor acting performances. My friends and family know that I get a kick out of bad movies most of the time. The film was beautiful to watch, not a surprise from Jackson, and the cast more than exceeded my already high expectations of them.
This sense of cold, boiling rage originates from the thought of someone violating my family the way the Salmon family is. For someone, anyone, to steal away the innocence and beauty of my children as was taken with Suzy Salmon leads my mind to dark destinations. I know that if anyone was to harm my babies, that I knew who did it and had the opportunity to confront such a monster before the police could intervene the cruelest, most unmerciful side of my personality would emerge. Technically I know that matters are “best” left to the laws of this nation and those that are charged with upholding them. However, if some devil was to harm someone that took part of my soul to create the limits of written law would simply fall short. I do not think there is any humanly way to serve complete justice for harming a child but that would not stop me from doing all that I could to give whatever cosmic/higher power a head start on the process. Simply, if you hurt my child I am going to hurt you. Very Badly.
While anger was my strongest emotional response to the movie, the positive elements were not lost on me. The message of letting go, moving on, the strength of family and the many faces of love were a perfect counter to all the negative. Not every story is a happy one and happy endings cannot be promised. I look forward to reading the book sometime soon to compare the two versions.
It’s pretty interesting about your visceral reaction to the movie. I think that’s what makes film so interesting. I have to admit I didn’t like the film all that much but perhaps a different perspective brings about a different viewpoint into it.
I’m not a huge fan of the book (although the writer has Syracuse connections – she actually was there at the same time as Raymond Carver AND Paul Watkins no less…although her experience there probably isn’t so fond since she was raped near the campus which sort of colored her memoir and this novel.)
Actually, I read it while in a phase of life-after-death interest and really enjoyed these two novels – “The Truth About Celia” which is similar to the Lovely Bones but less on the afterlife stuff and “The Brief History of the Dead” which has this fascinating concept about there being life after death but only as long as someone in the real world remains to sustain you through memory. I highly recommend this one. It’s a pretty quick read.
Glad to see you still blogging.
-Phil