I remember being completely devastated by the first chapter of the book: her capture, his body above hers, the ultimate disgust that I felt. The movie was just incapable of eliciting such strong emotions. The novel is by far the superior option. Save yourself a difference of two dollars, and pick up the paperback.

I don’t know if it was the script, the redundant attempt at a euphoric soundtrack, or the liberties taken with the plot… but either way, I was extremely disappointed. Having just re-read the book for a refresher, this movie was a mockery of the original story.

Let’s start with the most ridiculous, laugh out, “can you believe she just said that?” moment. The main character, Susie, has just been viciously murdered by a neighbor she hardly knows and her soul has arrived in a smaller, inbetween version of heaven. She meets Holly, who tries to convince Susie to follow her. How does Susie respond?

“But… I don’t know you.”

Really!? Now you say that?

Peter Jackson assured us in 2005 that the adaptation wouldn’t be “hokey”. But I had to grimace at the “ethereal” sound of Susie’s voice (played by Saoirse Ronan). The build-up to Susie’s murder is exhausting, Buckley is left out almost entirely with the exception of one teaser line, the affair isn’t even an option, the meaning behind the icicle is lost and the future of this family is a mere afterthought.

Speaking of afterthoughts, I was a little annoyed with the preview which leads a viewer (that hasn’t read the book) to believe this film as about a little girl helping her Dad find a killer; leaving this audience unsatisfied as well. The movie instead creates a sorry excuse for a subplot, focused on Susie’s struggle to reach the larger part of heaven by moving passed the InBetween and really “getting over” her death.

Bollocks.

Now, I feel obligated to also credit the movie for Susan Sarandon and her character, Lynn, the boisterous grandmother who moves in after Mom moves out. And yes, the effects really were dazzling; even if overdone and taken out of context. Stanley Tucci is always the best choice for a creepy bad guy; in fact, the cast wasn’t bad at all. It was… well, the rest of it.

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