Young stars keep their cool in ‘The Lovely Bones’
Hollywood’s young starlets could learn a thing or two from Saoirse Ronan and Rose McIver.

Without a massive entourage or ego between them, the two costars of “The Lovely Bones” walked into a recent Toronto screening of Peter Jackson’s new thriller.

Their effect on the audience almost topped their fine screen performances.

“They’re so articulate. So nice,” said one disbelieving moviegoer sitting beside me.”

“Who knew young stars could be so composed?” said another impressed individual.

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Indeed, Ronan, 15, and McIver, 21, brought so much well-spoken, down-to-earth enthusiasm to their discussion of “The Lovely Bones” that onlookers muttered plenty of “Wow’s!” by the time these pros were done talking.

Each actress puts an indelible stamp on Jackson’s hugely-anticipated adaptation of Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel.

Susie Salmon, the story’s murdered, 14-year-old heroine, is beautifully and believably rendered by Irish actress Ronan.

The gifted Ronan earned an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the meddling sister, Briony Tallis, in the 2007 film “Atonement.”

Her ravishing performance as the heavenly narrator Susie, a girl on the brink of life before she is raped, killed and dismembered by a neighbour (Stanley Tucci), could score Ronan a second Oscar nomination in 2011.

New Zealand actress McIver (“The Piano”) also shines on screen with equal strength as Lindsey Salmon, Susie’s younger, earthbound sister.

Like their father, portrayed with heart-breaking despair and dedication by Mark Wahlberg, Lindsey puts everything on the line to solve Susie’s ghastly murder.

“She’s definitely the most courageous character in the story,” Ronan told CTV.ca.

The film’s most nerve-wracking scene, in fact, comes when McIver breaks into the killer’s house and desperately searches for evidence before his return.

McIver’s thrilling race against the clock wonderfully conjures up that exquisite tension found in many of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films.

A matter of trust

“With the kind of subject matter that is in this book you can’t really commit to it unless you feel very secure. Peter made us all feel like that,” McIver told CTV.ca.

“Yes, we felt very safe right from the off,” said Ronan.

That is a good thing, to be sure, because both actresses shared some very frightening moments on screen with bad-guy Tucci.

“It’s funny, really, because Stanley is a family man. He’s so charming and kind. You’ll see him in a wonderful suit holding a martini glass. He’s the complete opposite of this killer George Harvey,” Ronan told CTV.ca.

“Quite a few of my scenes were with Stanley and they were all very intense and very emotional,” Ronan added.

The creepiest by far is Ronan’s scene with Tucci in a secret underground hideaway in an isolated cornfield.

The monstrous, mousy killer goes to great lengths to build this camouflaged den, filling it with toys, candles and other pleasantries to lure the girl in on her walk home school.

“This is so cool,” Susie bubbles over as she climbs down into the cozy cellar.

In a matter of moments, however, Susie’s better instincts tell her to run. Sadly, her intuition kicks in when it is far too late to save her life.

“The cornfield scene was the first one Stanley and I did together” Ronan explained.

“Between takes I’d go and give Stanley a hug. That was the kind of relationship it was. Then the camera would start to roll and Stanley would start thinking about killing me,” Ronan smiled.

Despite its grim subject matter, (“Which was very hard to get behind,” according to McIver), “The Lovely Bones” is not without humour.

Some of the film’s funniest moments come courtesy of Susan Sarandon, who portrays Susie’s mink-clad, booze-loving grandmother.

The laughs certainly help Susie and her parents (Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz) endure their own special hell throughout the film.

As in Sebold’s book, however, Jackson lets love win out on earth — and in that in-between plane outside of heaven from which Susie looks down.

“This film says something very special about how strong a father’s love can be for his child,” said Ronan.

Where McIver plays the slightly ignored child in the family, Ronan’s Susie is the apple of her father’s eye. Death can do little to change that fact.

“Susie is the oldest child and very close to her father,” said Ronan. “Their connection strengthens when she dies because he can’t let go. He won’t let her rest. It’s only when they do let go that both of them can move on.”

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