Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Surandon, Stanley Tucci, Rose McIver
Summary: A 14-year-old girl from suburban Pennsylvania is raped and murdered. She tells her story as she watches over her family - and her killer - from purgatory. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.
Genre: Drama
This film doesn't start like your typical Hollywood film where you're given a bit of time to get used to the characters before everything gets going, instead you're sucked into the story as soon as the film starts when you listen to Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) tell you that she has been raped and murdered.
I hadn't read the book (not that I knew there was one) so I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought this film was incredible. It truly makes you feel every emotion from love in the scene where Jack (Mark Wahlberg) shares his love of making ships in bottles with Susie, to sadness and anger.
The scenes of Susie’s rape and murder aren’t actually shown which I think is a very good thing, one because I know I wouldn't have been able to watch a scene like that and secondly just the thought of knowing what’s happening in that room is effective enough.
The acting in this film for me was truly astounding, watching the Jack and Abigail's (Rachel Weisz) individual breakdowns in the struggle to come to terms with the loss of their child and then the breakdown of heir marriage and family parent’s breakdown was truly heartbreaking. I've always found Wahlberg's acting skills to be a bit hit and miss (although he is brilliant in Four Brothers), but here I was thoroughly impressed especially at the start of his breakdown where he detroys his ships in bottles.
And Stanley Tucci (who plays George Harvey) hands down one of the best performances I've seen.
The cinematography and digital effects are absolutely stunning. This film I have to say is another one of the best films I have ever seen, but I did find it extremely emotional, so I have vowed that when I get the DVD I will only watch the film once more before putting it away for a long time.
Edit- I bought the dvd sometime in the summer of 2010 or 2011 and left it unopened on my shelf for 8 months before deciding to watch it the same time it was being shown on tv. But not again for a good few years, that's for sure.
I hadn't read the book (not that I knew there was one) so I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought this film was incredible. It truly makes you feel every emotion from love in the scene where Jack (Mark Wahlberg) shares his love of making ships in bottles with Susie, to sadness and anger.
The scenes of Susie’s rape and murder aren’t actually shown which I think is a very good thing, one because I know I wouldn't have been able to watch a scene like that and secondly just the thought of knowing what’s happening in that room is effective enough.
The acting in this film for me was truly astounding, watching the Jack and Abigail's (Rachel Weisz) individual breakdowns in the struggle to come to terms with the loss of their child and then the breakdown of heir marriage and family parent’s breakdown was truly heartbreaking. I've always found Wahlberg's acting skills to be a bit hit and miss (although he is brilliant in Four Brothers), but here I was thoroughly impressed especially at the start of his breakdown where he detroys his ships in bottles.
And Stanley Tucci (who plays George Harvey) hands down one of the best performances I've seen.
The cinematography and digital effects are absolutely stunning. This film I have to say is another one of the best films I have ever seen, but I did find it extremely emotional, so I have vowed that when I get the DVD I will only watch the film once more before putting it away for a long time.
Edit- I bought the dvd sometime in the summer of 2010 or 2011 and left it unopened on my shelf for 8 months before deciding to watch it the same time it was being shown on tv. But not again for a good few years, that's for sure.
My Rating: 10/10
One Final Word: One of the Best
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