Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that director Peter Jackson's drama based on Alice Sebold's best-selling book The Lovely Bones centers on the aftermath of an enormous tragedy: the death of a child (though the actual death itself isn't shown on screen). The intense subject matter -- murder and molestation -- may overwhelm younger teens. Although the movie's messages about love and loss are ultimately positive, the film is often deeply sorrowful and, at times, quite violent (images include dead bodies, bloody clothes, and more). Language includes mostly name-calling; there's also some kissing, and one older character smokes and drinks in front of children.
Sexual
Content
Some kissing. Implied pedophilia.
Violence
Brief flashes of a man grabbing and throwing a teenager to the floor and against the wall (though her actual death takes place off screen). He's also shown carrying a bloody bag and soaking in a tub, his blood-stained clothing strewn on the floor. The sink is filled with bloodied water. A safe that presumably holds a corpse is repeatedly shown. The bodies of a serial killer's victims are shown in the various places where they were dumped. A teenager beats up a man with a baseball bat; the man is later shown bruised and battered.
Language
One "f--k," plus occasional use of words like "hell" and "oh God" (as an exclamation). Also some name-calling, including "jerk off," "moron," and "stupid."
Social
Behavior
Though it centers on a shocking murder, the movie takes great pains to juxtapose the violence with love and domesticity. Loss, though destabilizing, is portrayed as far from decimating. Death isn't explored as an end but a passage.
Consumerism
Some labels and signage are visible (Kodak, Seventeen magazine).
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
A grandmother chain-smokes and drinks heavily in front of her grandchildren.
