Lovely Bones--A Review

I recently saw the movie Lovely Bones. It’s the story of a girl who is murdered by a predator and then narrates, in the first person, the resulting journeys of her family, the predator, and surprisingly enough, herself. The first person narration of the movie lends itself to an interesting set of questions: What does death really bring? Does death produce growth in us? How does our death affect others? What is the nature of justice and its relationship to death? What is heaven and hell really like? Do we need a savior or are we saved on our own and is there some interim period after death that leads, perhaps if we are good enough, to heaven?

The movie is well produced with the predator’s vile actions being contrast with the purity of his personal hobby. While killing young women satisfies him at a level too terrible to comprehend, he also makes miniature doll houses; the kind of toy a young girl would love. The producers and writers also examine the kind of person that actually kills at such a perverted level.

In the end, the movie is about justice and revenge. The dead girls family seeks justice but goes about it in the wrong way. The dead girl herself creates a second death of sorts by her deep-seated desire to take revenge on her killer. Her heaven becomes hell in some ways; a hell she creates on her own by her post death hatred. In the end, justice appears to have been served. I’ll not reveal the climax of the story but I was told that the guy who played the predator said he wouldn’t have taken the part had not the just demise of the predator been part of the story.

It was not a satisfying justice for me. I’ll leave it at that. Frankly, I didn’t see it as justice though its obvious the writer and producers did. Real justice is more just!! I think God is more just than what this movie presents as justice. Real justice isn’t bad Karma. Real justice is not an accident. Furthermore, the writers view of heaven and hell seem to merge in an uncomfortable ebb and flow created by the dead girls interactions with the characters continued lives on earth. I’m not sure the exact religious orientation of the writers. Check out movie. If you have daughters, be ready for an emotional punch to the gut. But it’s worth watching.