Let’s put the bones to rest.
In my last blog I wrote about my reservations about the novel “The Lovely Bones” being brought to the big screen … even in the capable hands of director Peter Jackson. I was right to be skeptical, but the film is far from the total disaster that some critics have called it. It is, however, a thin, pale representation of a complex novel that manages to capture some of the essence, but little of the soul of the story.
This commentary is mostly for folks who’ve read the book and seen the movie, but everyone’s welcome aboard for the ride. I guess the main point I have to make is that Alice Sebold’s novel is the true work of art here. The movie is a heartfelt interpretation that, unfortunately, only manages to skim the surface. The main plot points are there … a murdered teenage girl watches over the world she left behind from a heaven-like, in between world … but most of the complex characters in the drama are reduced to cutouts in the movie.
The one exception is Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon. She is positively luminous as the girl who will be forever fourteen. Susie is the only character that Jackson seems to truly understand. Ronan connects seamlessly with Susie’s teen heart and perspective … loving, goofy, vindictive, she gets it all right.
The problem is that Susie is the narrator of the story, not its sole focus or point. The lovely bones of the title refer to the relationships that grow among people connected to Susie after her death. In almost every case Jackson and his writing team botch the supporting stories of Susie’s family and friends.
Let’s do the roll call.
Mark Wahlberg as Susie’s dad … he has the grief stricken look of a man who’s lost his daughter, but his big scene smashing his ships-in-a-bottle doesn’t feel earned. We haven’t seen enough of his relationship with Susie to really feel his pain. It’s a programmed response, not an organic one.
Rachel Weisz as Susie’s mom … this wonderful actress is totally wasted. Jackson only gives us one brief glimpse into the depth of her character when he shows us her bedside book pile morphing from challenging literature to house and home tomes. In the novel, Susie’s death shatters a world that was already showing serious cracks. Her affair with the detective investigating the murder case is left out entirely. With no depth how are we supposed to care?
Rose McIver as Susie’s sister Lindsey … she’s a gamer and does well with a reduced story line. In the novel we’re allowed to see her grow, mature and love … the movie pretty much leaves her in the role of Harriet The Spy. Too bad.
Susan Sarandon as Grandma Lynn … oy. Played strictly for comic relief, boozy and cliched. Not good. Not good at all.
Michael Imperioli as the detective. Great 70’s hair and wardrobe. Nothing else.
Reece Ritchie as Ray. He’s supposed to be Susie’s high school crush, but he looks like a college grad student. A ridiculous and insulting casting choice.
Carolyn Dando as Ruth. Another great character in the novel, totally marginalized in the movie. The goth girl look is right, though like Ritchie she’s too old for the role. Were there no decent teen actors available?!
Stanley Tucci as the killer. Jackson gives Tucci, a brilliant actor, lots of rope. We get a thoroughly creepy character study in evil. Yes, the spectre of Mr. Harvey is always there in the novel, but Sebold is able to move the reader away from him with Susie’s narrative. He’s in your face in the movie, too much of a presence for me.
I know I haven’t said a whole lot of positive things about the movie, but honestly I’m not hating on it. Jackson’s been hammered for some of his CGI set pieces for Susie’s heaven, but I thought they worked pretty well. Listen, even in a watered down version “The Lovely Bones” is a compelling story. It just happens to work much better on the page than on the screen.
Your thoughts, welcome as always.
The 2009-2010 Broadway Across America/Boston Season is now official, and there really is something special for every type of theatre fan. All shows will be either at The Colonial Theatre or Opera House. There’ll be lots of time to talk about the shows in the coming months, but first let’s get them out there (with an occasional quip or two). Check the Broadway Across America website for the latest ticket information.
Just to cement my standing of being a tributary along the pop culture mainstream, I don’t have a thing to say about last night’s celebrated American Idol finale (a yawn and a scratch doesn’t count). I’d rather check in on a more ambitious and less manufactured development in the music world: the return of Green Day and the arrival of a true soundtrack for the summer of 2009.
Spring can be such a fickle season in New England. The glorious warmth and sunshine of one day, pushed out by bone chilling rain the next. There is no such inconsistency with the national tour of the musical “Spring Awakening” as it opens its first Boston run at The Colonial Theatre. It is thrilling, brave, and completely unforgettable.
Wait a minute. How can that work?
So now we jump ahead to our “enlightened” era, and it’s stunning how little has changed. Enter songwriter Duncan Sheik, writer Steven Sater and Director Michael Mayer and teen angst is set to a rock and roll beat for the ages. “Spring Awakening” blooms again.
Let’s talk about the cast for a bit. First and foremost they are every bit the equals of the Broadway originals … and that is the highest praise I can give. Kyle Riabko plays Melchior, the intelligent, compassionate, and progressive student leader who tries to clue in his frustrated schoolmates about what’s really going on with their bodies, and what society is doing to keep them in the dark. Riabko’s voice beautifully expresses Melchior’s need for something more than his provincial surroundings, and his hopes for a more fulfilling life.
Then there’s Blake Bashoff in the show stopping role of Moritz. His wild nest of hair quickly summing up a young life on the edge. Plagued by sexual dreams he can’t understand, and school work he can’t handle, Moritz finds himself being pulled into a pit of self-doubt and despair … and Bashoff understands his pain. With his eyes, sometimes filled with tears, Bashoff sings “And Then There Were None,” and “Don’t Do Sadness” with a passion that is heartbreaking and endearing at the same time. Moritz is being crushed by forces beyond his control, but Bashoff doesn’t let him go down without a fight.
There is no braver performance in “Spring Awakening” than Christy Altomare’s as Wendla. Playing a character who is denied the most basic information about sexuality, this budding young woman is thrown into the thorn bush of real life. Not as a victim, but as an innocent, honestly trying to understand what is happening to her body and to her world. Altomare gives herself completely to the role and bares more than just her soul (there is partial nudity in the show). There is such beauty and dignity to her work here, and it’s backed by a voice that is pure and strong. Simply stunning.
Don’t forget, you also get an incredible rock band on stage, surrounded by a set that includes bleachers on the wings for a few lucky audience members. It doesn’t matter where your seats are though, if you’re in the house … you’re in for one of the most memorable live theatre experiences you will ever have.
Productions like “Spring Awakening” do not come along that often, so when they do it’s time to celebrate and support them.
When the weapons are Nerf guns, pool noodles and socks, I say … Game On!
“Is this it?”
Amazing how much hasn’t changed since 1890!
Let’s face it, when the high school years hit, family dynamics can really get strained. Academics are more challenging and carry far greater consequences (hello, college applications) … the generation gap can feel like a canyon (music, movies, television, video games, etc often become divisive battlegrounds) … and then there’s sex (relationships, lack of relationships, self esteem, orientation) … all this stuff simmering away, ready to hit a full boil at any moment.
The music of Duncan Sheik, the book by Steven Sater, and the direction of Michael Mayer have elevated Frank Wedekind’s century old drama into a timeless classic. It’s been tamed a bit from the days when it was banned from production, but it’s central theme remains: that ignorance, intolerance, and repression will most surely lead to tragedy.
The star crossed tale of Melchior, Wendla, and Moritz is not a happy one. They, and their friends, are caught up in a world that feeds them hard facts and half truths. Their rebellion is articulated through rock songs that are both exhilarating and heartbreaking. The lyrics often as raw as the emotions.
Rodgers and Hammerstein got it right in “South Pacific” all those years ago … there is nothing like a dame. Especially when the lady in question is a purple-haired, cabaret queen who can launch a thousand quips in one giddy evening of old school comedy. This may be Marathon weekend in Boston, but Dame Edna Everage is turning it into a drag race!
So what is this show all about? Honestly, it’s just a chance to forget your troubles for a couple of hours and laugh louder, and longer than you probably have in a good long time. Dame Edna snipes away at everything from late arriving audience members to current celebrity misadventures … Madonna receives a particularly good skewering. 
She’s from a small village in Scotland.
