ROTTEN TOMATOES: Even Earth is Heavenly in Lovely Bones

Even Earth is Heavenly in Lovely Bones

Star Saoirse Ronan talks about her initial experiences on set.

by Fred Topel | January 15, 2008

Soairse Ronan goes from the acclaim of Atonement to tackling Peter Jackson's adaptation of the beloved novel The Lovely Bones. Ronan plays Susie Salmon, the murdered girl who watches her family cope from heaven. She is still awaiting production on heaven, but even shooting the earth scenes have been magical.

"We did the stuff leading up to her murder and we haven't done any of the underground stuff yet with Mr. Harvey and stuff," said Ronan. "We've actually done some stuff in the house and it was great to do stuff on earth and do some bits in heaven, like in the house we did some stuff which is in heaven. It's hard to explain but you'll know what I mean when it comes out."

This won't be the average ghost story where Ronan stands on the set and the other actors ignore her. Jackson did full on special effects to make her appear in the earth scenes. "They did their scenes and then another day I did my scene and it's like I can hear voices but I can't see anyone. There's nobody there. So it's kind of like I'm in this different realm but yet there's still a small connection. I can still hear them but I can't see them or touch them."

Plus, there's still heaven itself to look forward to. "I'm actually going next week. I'm so excited, it's unbelievable. Peter's going to do it in such a way that it's really beautiful. It's seen through a child's eye, kind of like Atonement I suppose, and kind of Susie's imagination makes heaven. It's really beautiful. I don't want to give too much away but it's really gorgeous."

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(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply

KGattise writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:22 PM

I haven't seen Atonement yet, so I don't know Ronan's potential as an actress. But, since Peter Jackson is directing it, I can't wait. His vision is absolutely remarkable. I'm kind of excited how he will portray heaven. He made LOTR with such great emotional elements, and I hope he will do the same here.

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Jen Yamato writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:25 PM

Atonement is excellent, and so is Ronan.

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Ruckas356 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:31 PM

I always hear something about "the lovly bones" but people act like everyone knows what its about. Like everyone reads books.

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jimmers_205 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:38 PM

Ronan was drop dead amazing in Atonement. I can't wait to see her in this!

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Bardego writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:40 PM

It's not *that* surprising, Ruckas. The Lovely Bones a huge hit when it first came out.

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Bardego writes:
on Jan 15 2008 12:41 PM

EDIT: was a huge hit when it first came out.

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sobek1 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 01:45 PM

is it just me, or does she say the word "stuff" a whole lot?

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glhxckid writes:
on Jan 15 2008 02:13 PM

sobek... that's the first thing I noticed.

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lavatory love machine writes:
on Jan 15 2008 02:15 PM

I saw atonement last night and I found her to be extremly annyoning, but then again that's what the character supposed to be

so either she's a very good actress or a very annyoning person

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rt_hire_me writes:
on Jan 15 2008 02:22 PM

'beloved novel' Didn't like it, and I know that's swimming upstream because everyone liked it. I was waiting for Harvey to get his comeuppance, and I don't want to spoil anything... let's just say noone gets their finger bit off or falls into a lava pit or swats a plane.

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rsav1976 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 03:28 PM

I thought the first half of the novel was very good, but it sort of limped on in the second half and turned into a dysfunctional family drama until the end. The end with Mr Harvey should be cool on film though. I always believed that the story was better suited as a movie than a book. There's a ton of potential here, but anyone expecting this to be some great epic action movie like LOTR will be sorely disappointed. This is as much a love story, maybe more so, as it is a thriller. I hope Jackson livens it up, but the story is good enough to carry the film.

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h-town24 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 04:07 PM

Sweet!

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BowieSwimmer writes:
on Jan 15 2008 05:12 PM

LOVED Atonement.
Love Ronan.
Hope Jackson can deliver on one of my favorite books [except I hope he cuts out Sebold's only misstep, where Susan's character inhabits the body of her friend, You'll know what I'm talking about if you've read the book]. We all know he can do the big-budget, epic fantasy films, but hopefully he'll surprise on his first smaller project.
That being said, Ronan's comments sound marvelous.
I'm beyond excited.

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Jimbo93 writes:
on Jan 15 2008 05:22 PM

In reply to this comment (#1472751)
This is hardly Jackson's first "small project:, BowieSwimmer. Remember "Heavenly Creatures", about 2 imaginative girls in New Zealand who commit murder? That's hardly a big budget fantasy epic, but its very good. I think Jackson will do a great job, but I want the read the book sometime.

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TheMisfortuneTeller writes:
on Jan 15 2008 10:18 PM

I have no interest whatsoever in "back from the grave" or "looking on from 'heaven'" scenarios. Death loses all its power and emotional affectiveness absent its finality. When people die, they stop. They don't "start up" again -- sort of -- somewhere -- somehow. As well, inarticulate actors who populate their inane utterances with redundant references to "stuff" leave me uninterested in seeing any movies in which they appear. Thanks for the warning, though.

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jasperoosterveld writes:
on Jan 16 2008 12:55 AM

Good choise :)

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Kimmycat24 writes:
on Jan 17 2008 09:30 AM

I read the book several years ago and loved it. She was fantastic in "Atonement" and I think she will be great in "The Lovely Bones". She has a bright future ahead of her.

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