MovieChat Forums > The Lovely Bones (2010) Discussion > how do we know she was raped?

how do we know she was raped?


i read somewhere that it was obvious in the movie that susie was raped by harvey before he murdered her, and that he raped all of his victims.
where can we see clues about it in the movie?

"Oh lord, give me health and strength, we'll steal the rest."

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What do you think he was going to do to her once he got her trapped in that hole in the ground?
Play boardgames???

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actually just because you think its obvious doesn't make it so.
i still don't see how we know he did it in thw movie,
pesonally i thought he was only a child-killer, not a rapist.

"Oh lord, give me health and strength, we'll steal the rest."

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i haven't seen the movie in such a long time, but all i remember is that there were some mannerisms here and there that just suggested it. My parents haven't read the book, and i remember they asked me if he had raped her.

In the novel, of course, its much clearer as it is vividly described in the first chapter.

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It leaves it all to the viewer's imagination. I inferred that, based on his general creepiness and obsession, he would likley have raped her.
I'm no expert in these matters but don't many serial child killers also rape their victims?

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One clue in the movie is that all his victims were female. The book is pretty explicit about it.

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Do any of you read books?

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that still doesnt PROVE that he raped them too

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Why do you think gender is a clue for rape? Do you seriously think only girls can be raped?

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What does it say in the book?

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"Mannerisms" cannot indicate whether or not she was raped! Something more concrete is needed. He may well have intended rape, or perhaps rape and then murder. Or just murder. We know only that a murder occurred. We can merely guess whether he intended or committed rape.

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[deleted]

It's totally explained in the book. The movie is not that obvious for people who haven't read the book until "Flora Hernandez. Delaware, 1963. He'd only wanted to touch her, but she screamed" So yes, he was obviously a sexual abuser too. But I think that he liked killing women more than raping them. The book explains that Sophie Cichetti had sex with Harvey consensually and then he killed her just because she started talking. I totally recommend you to read the book, it's amazing.

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you convinced me, i'm reading it!

"Oh lord, give me health and strength, we'll steal the rest."

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The only people worse than those who get a thrill out of violently raping children are those who get a thrill out of violently murdering children.

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I just finished watching the movie, so I can still recall that creepy scene.

IMO the biggest (or only) clue about it is the scene where the police were in his house and questioning him. The cop showed him pictures of Susie when he pretended to not know her. In one those pictures she was sitting cross-legged. You can see him looking at her face first and then moving downward to her crotch and resting there for seconds, until he had to stop himself to concentrate on the cop again and noticed her bracelet.

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[deleted]

Watch the movie again. The bracelet wasn't the center in that scene until he looked at the officer and back at the picture again.

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I'm watching it right now. The reason the screen pans down to her lower area (I guess his gaze) is because in the picture she's wearing the bracelet and the same bracelet is on the table behind the cop.

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I think its pretty certain that Susie was raped

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[deleted]

She was raped, but this is a stupid question because it is irrelevant.

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"She was raped, but this is a stupid question because it is irrelevant."

It is relevant. If he had killed her when she was still unconcious, that would have involved less suffering and trauma than if she revived and was raped or tortured.

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[deleted]

Yes, the part where the cops showed him a cross legged picture of Susie was a giveaway. Also, Susie narrated at one point that Mr. Harvey could live off a memory of one of his crimes for weeks or even months, and when the memory started to fade, he hungered for more and went after another girl. It was worded a little differently, but basically that's what was said.

Again, the rape was described explicitly in the book, but the filmmakers wanted to handle it as delicately as possible.

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[deleted]

[deleted]

so u expected the then-13 year old Ronan to act in an explicit child-raping scene?

i'm amazed at how thoughtlessly demanding this "purist" book audience can be. how much more harsh do u expect the very IDEA of a child-raping murderer living in the neighbourhood to be?

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It could have easily presented the rape scene without showing it explicitly. Fade to black with only the sounds of rape being heard, or zooming the camera on one of the little figurines in the cellar, or even better, on his hand pinning forcibly her arm to the ground while under the effect of a rhythmically jerking motion.

But, then again, it wouldn't have reached the holy aim of PG-13.

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[deleted]

Just saw it on TV after having seen it on DVD years agol They couldn't have shown it because you think she escaped at first. You don't even see her get killed. I hadn't even considered that he raped her as well as murdered her, although I should have. That's what most child killers do.

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Just saw it last night. Frankly I never even wondered if he had raped her, I assumed that he did. The movie certainly did not need a rape scene at all. I haven't read the book, but I have heard there is a rape scene in it.

Whether it was the joy of sex then killing for killing sake, or rape and then murder to shut them up or just killing for the thrill without rape, what difference does it make to the movie?

The man was still a monster!

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Why else would he kill her? It's general knowledge that rapists typically murder their victims so they don't go telling whodunnit.



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i think thats an urban myth - if its general knowledge you should easily be able to provide proof to back up your claim - i think you may have been watching too many films

there are some people that will rape and not murder, some that will murder and not rape, some that will do both and some that will do neither...people hav built-in codes of honour and some lines will never be crossed

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If a rapist doesn't murder the victim it's not because the rapist doesn't want to. Many, if not most, do because rape is a crime motivated by hatred, not sex. However, murder will earn them one helluva long haul in the slammer or even the death penalty whereas rape, especially back then, won't get them anywhere near that kind of punishment.

Codes of honor, my butt. It's all about self preservation and for most rapists that love of self outweighs the hate.

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You insinuate she was raped prior to her death but clearly this is not the case. Her death came first and I assume he engaged in necrophilia. I have just started a new thread detailing this if you wish to hop on and take a look

Wonderful, moving film though! I just watched it again last night!

"Has anyone seen my wife?" - Columbo

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That's general knowledge?? I think you'd find a very small percentage of all rapes end in murder

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