Film Reaction

The film The Lovely Bones honestly was not my type of movie.  I felt it didn't include sufficient action or thrilling music to keep me at the edge of my seat. However, there were many camera techniques and angles used throughout. In particular, I recognized many extreme close-ups and establishing shots. The close-ups were usually used on Mr. Havery or Susie Salmon. The establishing shots were mostly in front of the Salmon home or the cornfields. Furthermore, the film included high and low key lighting. However, despite the role of the movie to be a despondent film about raped young girls, there was a lot of high key lighting. In addition, the filmmaker assigned many point of view shots. Usually they were depicted on Lindsey and Havery. Her reaction to his glares were very obvious through this shot.

Also, the movie maker used a lot of panning and rotating in general. When Havery convinced Susie to go into the underground house, the director made sure he tilted and rotated the camera in the entire house. It was completely scary and built up suspense immediately. As an outsider, I felt myself in Susies position. It was clear she would not make it out and either way she would be killed. There was a Birds Eye Shot when the director took the shot looking down into reality. Susie was in the sky and she was gloriously looking down into her house.

While searching for camera terms, I noted down a few of the songs used in the film. In particular, "Alice" by Cocteau Twins,  "Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil and "I Hear You Knockin" by Dave Edmunds were all played in the film. My favorite was "I Hear You Knockin" which was a rock song played in the middle of the movie.

All in all, I really wished I could have experienced a Deus ex Machina in The Lovely Bones. After all the only time I found a problem was abrupty solved was when a block of ice fell on Mr.Havery and forced him to fall of a cliff and thus die. Now that was funny and we didn't need Fenerman or Mr. Salmon to kill him, the ice commited the crime for all!