The Lovely Bones (2009)

"The story of a life and everything that came after" is the tagline for this Peter Jackson film based the Alice Sebold novel. Set in the early 1970s, the narrator, Susie Salmon, tells about events leading up to her murder at age fourteen and then afterwards as she watches (from beyond) her family and murderer after the tragic event. Saoirse Ronan is a young actress who holds our attention throughout. The perpetrator (Stanley Tucci) is a solitary man living across the street of the ordinary suburban neighborhood who manages to avoid conviction as the loving Dad (Mark Wahlberg) is relentless in his search justice. The wife and mother, Rachel Weitz, wants to finally let go and move on for the sake of her two remaining children. Susan Sarandon is the tough alcoholic grandmother who comes to help the family hold together as they grieve and heal. The other-worldly visions (from Heaven) raise questions about consciousness and human connection that exist beyond the last breath. Music by Brian Eno adds a certain mood to this suspenseful and thought-provoking story that is full of intensity and drama.