20 Films for 2009 - Lovely Bones

As promised here is the first of the 2 films I'm most looking forward to in 2009But before I start let me just be clear about the rules in my selection process.

1. I adjust the film year for the American readership (that makes this sound a lot more official than it is but there you go). So Revolutionary Road is out, even though I will certainly see it.

2. I only include films I think have a reasonable chance of opening in the UK. So no New York, I Love You; although if that does get a UK release it's jumping up to number 2 on this list.

3. On IMDB the filming must have started, and it must be recorded as a 2009 film. It's arbitrary I know, and I'm sure Eastwood will finish The Human Factor in time, nevertheless it's out of this list for now.

Anyhoo the first film, or the twentieth depending on your point of view is Peter Jackson's adaptation of the superb novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Here's a photo of director and some of the cast huging each other on set for no particular reason:





The book concerns (and this isn't a spoiler as it's on the first page) the murder of a teenage girl and how the family and friends cope with their tragedy. I'm not ashamed to admit that whilst reading the book I cried during nearly every chapter, the story packs an enormous emotional wallop and it's hard not to feel an intense connection with the characters. Especially with Susie Salmo, the heroine, looking back on her family from heaven.

I'm certainly keen to see what can be made from this beautiful novel, however I have my doubts about Peter Jackson being the man to do it. Yeah, LOTR was fine but I can't be the only person who thought King Kong was a touch self-indulgent. The cast also fills me with dread - Marky Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz are both extremely atractive but limited performers and if Marky tries to act like he did in 2008's The Happening we could all be in trouble.

Finally I'm worried about Heaven. What I liked about the novel was hat Heaven didn't appear to be overly supernatural. There have been delays in the filming due to the design template of this, so clearly they are not going for a naturalistic tone, if this detracts from how heaven works in Sebold's novel I will be greatly disappointed.

Please feel free to comment about whether you're looking forward to The Lovely Bones, should it be higher on the list or should I forget about it completely?