For my mom’s birthday my sisters and I wanted to take her out to the movies. I was thinking we’d see something light and fluffy like
Leap Year when my 14 year old niece said, "Can I come too? I want to see
The Lovely Bones." So it was decided. I was a little surprised that my niece wanted to see this movie. What was the attraction? When I asked her, she gave that very teenage answer: a shrug of the shoulders. I guessed it was because of
Saoirse Ronan. There aren’t a lot of films out there with a female protagonist who is the same age as my niece. Plus, Kylie’s been getting really into supernatural and horror films lately and the recent TV ads played up that angle of this film. Then I saw this article in
Variety. This new marketing angle was intentional and perfectly suited to snag my niece’s attention!
My sisters, mom and I were cool with the choice because we had all read the book by
Alice Sebold all those years ago when it was riding high on the bestsellers lists. In fact, I was thrilled when I first heard that
Peter Jackson and his partners were adapting it. Then I felt a little deflated when early reviews were dogging the film. But it’s rare that reviews will stop me from seeing something, especially when I’ve been looking forward to it. I’m more of a word of mouth girl, and some friends of mine, whose opinions I trust, gave it a very good recommendation.
I liked the film. It’s not a perfect, but it’s not terrible either. It has been so many years since I read the book that I can’t remember it well enough to know how much the film deviates, which seems to be a sticking point with many reviewers. I found the film to be haunting, beautiful, emotionally truthful, and at times very, very scary. The performances by the ensemble cast were all well done. Saoirse Ronan gives another performance that is beyond her years and
Stanley Tucci proves yet again what a dynamic actor he is. Having this eerie serial killer role in the same year as his lovable husband in
Julie & Julia is incredible. Even
Mark Whalberg was believable and touching as the dad unable to move on after his daughter’s death.
Peter Jackson portrayed the heartbreak surrounding the murder of a teenage girl, the repercussions felt by her family and friends, the urgency in finding her killer (who incidentally is right under their noses), and the girl’s existence in the “in between” without letting the story becoming maudlin or sensationalized. I know he is getting flak for not implicitly stating or showing that Susie Salmon is raped as well as murdered (as in the book), but I have no problem with this "watered" down version. The story is horrifying enough, without forcing us to watch that onscreen.
After the film was over I asked my niece what she thought. Her reply? "It was weird."
HA!
I try to stay away from talking about coaching rumors and things like that, but since we have a lot of future coaches in our department, I feel like this is a topic worth discussing and learning from. The question is, what in the world is going on with Urban Meyer? On December 26, he announced that he is retiring from coaching due to "health reasons." We later learned that he had lost 20 pounds during the season, and had to be taken to the hospital after the SEC championship game due to chest pains. Most people know that college football coaches work very long hours, have poor diets, and do not get much sleep. The fact that he was stepping away due to his health and wanting to be there for his family seemed noble. But, the next day, he apparently changed his mind, deciding only to take an undefined "leave of absence" in order to take care of his health. Then, news came out this weekend that he apparently is not taking any time off. He said he tried to take a day and a half off, but that didn't work. So, the question becomes, does he really have health issues, more specifically, cardiac issues, that need addressing, or was he just tired at the end of the season and made a rash decision? I just don't understand how he can go from retiring one day because he is afraid of the consequences coaching has had and will have on his health, to now not taking any time off at all. I can only come to two conclusions based on these sequences of events. 1) His health is really not a problem, and he just overreacted initially, or 2) His ego is so big that he can't step away from coaching in order to take care of himself or his family. I just think that he owes some sort of explanation for all of this. Hopefully future coaches can learn from this situation, that they need to take care of themselves, and be honest with people, because the facts around Urban Meyer do not add up.
Photos by Inge Morath:
Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson:
Photos by Eve Arnold:
Photos by Ernst Haas:
Photos by Erich Hartmann:
Photo by Dennis Stock:
Photos by Bruce Davidson:
