Overview
A haunting tale of loss and longing unfolds as a young girl watches her family from the afterlife.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- haunting
- eerie
- quiet evening
- literary adaptation night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci along with Peter Jackson's striking imagery, but found the film undermined by tonal clashes, sentimentality, and an uneven adaptation of the novel.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Susie narrates from a place between Heaven and Earth while watching her family and trying to influence the search for her body.
The film contrasts dazzling, Day-Glo afterlife imagery with Susie's murder and the menace surrounding George Harvey.
Jack, Abigail, Lindsey, and Grandma Lynn each change differently as the Salmon family copes with Susie's death.
Susie's continued presence links the search for her body with questions of punishment, closure, and letting go.
Films like The Lovely Bones, and why
Ghost
shares a supernatural afterlife perspective, grief-stricken family drama, and emotionally charged confrontation with violent crime
The Sixth Sense
shares a murdered young protagonist, melancholic supernatural framing, and a family struggling to recover from loss
The Silence of the Lambs
shares an unsettling serial-killer crime narrative, heightened visual style, and an investigation shaped by psychological trauma
What Dreams May Come
shares a literary fantasy treatment of death, family grief, and a visually imaginative realm beyond ordinary reality
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Release Date
- 2009-12-26
- Runtime
- 136 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (5088)
Cast
- Saoirse Ronan
- Mark Wahlberg
- Rachel Weisz
- Susan Sarandon
- Stanley Tucci
- Rose McIver
- Michael Imperioli
- Carolyn Dando
- Christian Ashdale
- Reece Ritchie
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Lovely Bones about?
- A murdered suburban teenager watches from a luminous afterlife as her family seeks answers and struggles toward release.
- What is The Lovely Bones like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Lovely Bones as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Lovely Bones violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Lovely Bones as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Lovely Bones?
- Critics broadly praised Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci along with Peter Jackson's striking imagery, but found the film undermined by tonal clashes, sentimentality, and an uneven adaptation of the novel.
- Which films are like The Lovely Bones?
- Films with a similar feel include Ghost, The Sixth Sense, The Silence of the Lambs, and What Dreams May Come.
- How long is The Lovely Bones?
- The Lovely Bones runs 136 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Lovely Bones?
- In United States, The Lovely Bones streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
