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RATING:  
SINGAPORE : Peter Jackson may have conquered Middle Earth with his "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, but with "The Lovely Bones", the visionary director seems somewhat, but not entirely, defeated.
In a role far more demanding than her Oscar-nominated turn in "Atonement", 15-year-old Saoirse Ronan plays Susie Salmon with quiet depth; a young girl living in '70s suburbia with her loving family, who ends up being raped and murdered by her neighbour (a chilling and Oscar-nominated Stanley Tucci).
Stranded in some sort of celestial limbo, Susie hovers as her father Jack (a constantly stunned Mark Wahlberg) searches for the killer while her mother Abigail (a dependable Rachel Weisz) tries to hold the family together.
Writing with his "Rings" collaborators, wife Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Jackson's film adaptation of Alice Sebold's evocative best seller is somewhat disappointing.
It is an entertaining but strange hybrid - part murder mystery, part sappy teen romance/coming of age story, part philosophy lesson, part family drama - that never quite connects.
The result is a feeling that it should be moving a lot faster, resolve itself less lazily and allow us to resonate deeper with its characters.
That said, it is impossible to imagine anyone else bringing this novel to the big screen.
Jackson manages to find a whimsical way to realise the otherworldly visions in Sebold's story without ever losing sight of the tragedy grounded at the centre of the tale.
Despite its rambling, the movie is incredibly interesting to watch.
Instead of holding on tightly to the book with heavy voice-over narration, Jackson chooses to translate Susie's inner journey and feelings into visuals with enthusiastic computer-generated imagery.
There isn't a scene where you can take your eyes off the screen, its luscious visuals evocative and affecting.
Yes, Jackson kind of loses his storytelling grip toward the end, but his obvious passion and compassion for the book and its characters is never failing.
Couple that with a new score by the legendary Brian Eno, and "The Lovely Bones" is still one poignant and involving emotional and visual ride.
- TODAY/ra
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